Temperatures hit record highs from Switzerland to the Czech Republic, Germany and Denmark today, Saturday, June 27, 2026, as a heat wave that affected western European countries this week moves to central and eastern parts of the continent.

Unusually high temperatures were recorded even in the Nordic countries not known for sweltering summers. The Danish Meteorological Institute reported a new record of 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Ødum north of Aarhus; the warmest day since records began in 1874.

In Switzerland, a record of 38.8 C (101.8 F) was set in the city of Basel. According to preliminary data by the German Weather Service, Germany marked a new high of 41.5 C (106.7 F) in Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt. The previous record was set a day earlier.

The country’s famous Autobahn was overwhelmed, too, as temperatures were expected to hit 40 C (104 F). In two places outside Berlin, the concrete of the A2 burst due to the high temperatures and the highway had to be closed. Other highway damage was also reported across the country.

Train operator Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies advised against all nonessential travel train travel this weekend. “Germany’s transportation infrastructure is being severely affected by the record-breaking heat this weekend,” Deutsche Bahn said in a statement.

The Czech Republic also saw its hottest day on record, with 40.6 C (105 F) in the northern town of Doksany. Forecasters said it may still rise.

In the western German city of Dormagen, dozens of residents of a nursing home were evacuated for medical care due to dangerous heat conditions in the building. The local fire department reported that temperatures inside the home had reached 35 C (95 F). Air conditioning is not widespread in Germany and many countries in Europe because the continent is largely unused to such intense heat.

In France, temperatures were easing as the peak of the heat wave was starting to pass in some parts of the country. But hospitals remained under intense pressure in the face of heat-related emergencies, including heart attacks, heatstroke and dehydration.The Paris public hospital authority said it activated its emergency response plan across all 38 hospitals to deal with a continuous increase in activity.

An authority said Friday its emergency departments treated nearly 3,000 patients in the past 24 hours, over a third more than normal, with a large proportion of them over the age of 75 requiring hospitalization. Phone calls to its medical dispatch centers were up nearly 80% compared with the same period in 2025, it said.

Three-quarters of France, encompassing tens of millions of people, was put under a red alert for extreme heat on Thursday and Friday as the mercury topped 40 C (104 F) in some locations, including in Paris.

Concerns that hospitals could be overwhelmed prompted the postponement of the Paris Pride march for LGBTQ+ rights on Saturday, and a three-day music festival was canceled.

The temperatures this week have been higher than those during a historic 2003 heat wave that was blamed for 15,000 heat-related deaths, many of them older people. During another exceptionally hot summer last year, more than 5,700 deaths were attributed to heat, according to France’s public health authority.

More to come…