London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2025

Outdoor events banned in parts of France as a record breaking heatwave sweeps across Europe

Outdoor events banned in parts of France as a record breaking heatwave sweeps across Europe

Concerts and large public gatherings have been called off in the Gironde department around Bordeaux.
Outdoor public events have been banned in an area of France as a record breaking heatwave sweeps across Europe.

Concerts and large public gatherings have been called off in the Gironde department around Bordeaux.

On Thursday, parts of France hit 40C earlier in the year than ever before, with temperatures expected to peak on Saturday.

Scientists said periods of intense heat are becoming more frequent and longer lasting as a result of global warming.

Spain, Italy and the UK are also experiencing high temperatures.

In Gironde, officials said public events, including some of the official June 18 Resistance celebrations, will be prohibited from Friday at 14:00 (12:00 GMT) "until the end of the heat wave". Indoor events at venues without air-conditioning are also banned.

Private celebrations, such as weddings, will still be allowed. "Everyone now faces a health risk", local official Fabienne Buccio told France Bleu radio.

The French Interior Ministry warned people to be extremely careful and not expose themselves to the weather.

State forecaster Meteo France said it was the earliest hot spell ever to hit the country, which has been caused by a mass of hot air moving from North Africa.

Temperatures could hit 39C in Paris and droughts have also raised the risk of wildfires, the forecaster said.

"I'm 86 years old, I was born here, but I think this is the worst heatwave I've ever seen," Jacqueline Bonnaud told the AFP news agency in the southern city of Toulouse.

The increased use of air-conditioners and fans was forcing France to import electricity from neighboring countries, grid operator RTE said.

In Spain, which has just experienced its hottest May since the beginning of the century, temperatures are forecast to hit highs of 43C this weekend, the Aemet weather service said.

There have been forest fires in Catalonia, including one which could grow to 20,000 hectares before it's contained, the regional government said.

Water is so low in large stretches of Italy's largest river, the Po, that locals can walk through the middle of the expanse of sand and wartime shipwrecks are resurfacing.

In the UK, temperatures are expected to reach 33C in southern England, while a level three heat-health alert has been issued for London.

Parts of western Europe are experiencing more extreme heat this weekend under a wave of hot air that has moved north from Africa.

Temperatures in both Spain and France have broken records, putting pressure on hospitals and energy grids.

French officials forecast some areas will reach 42C (107.6F) on Saturday.

Scientists warn that climate change is making periods of intense heat strike more frequently and earlier in the year, and be more severe.

France is experiencing the country's earliest recorded heatwave since records began in 1947, its meteorological agency said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
×