By the numbers: What to know about Europe's record-breaking heat wave

LONDON (AP) — Much of western Europe has been baking under a “heat dome” this week, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places.

The extreme conditions have come in June, earlier in the summer than is usual. Records are tumbling by day and by night. Add in the humidity and it's more tropical than temperate.

The heat is coming up from north Africa and affecting Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.K. — most of them without widespread air conditioning and unused to such oppressive heat.

Conditions are expected to ease in coming days, though July and August, the traditional height of the European summer, are still to come.

Here are some standout numbers that illustrate the depth and breadth of the heat wave:

The hottest temperature in France this week, recorded in the small southwestern town of Pissos on Wednesday.

The average temperature measured at 30 French weather stations by the Meteo France weather agency on Wednesday. The agency said it was the first time ever the average has been that high, making Wednesday the hottest day in France ever.

While the figure may seem low, it was measured day and night and shows this latest heat wave is much broader than others before. More than three-quarters of France have been placed under a red weather alert for the first time ever.

The temperature recorded in Somerset, southern England on Thursday, marking the hottest June day the country ever saw. Forecasters have extended its red alert for heat in much of central and southern England and Wales.

The German Weather Service says the temperature didn’t go below this figure in Bad Bergzabern, in Rhineland-Palatinate in the west of the country. That equals a record for the warmest night in Germany set in July 2019.

High humidity means that the heat has been lingering into the night for millions, providing little respite. In England, temperatures in Plymouth only dropped to 23.0 C (73.4 F), provisionally smashing another record.

That's how many people have drowned in heat wave-related incidents in the past week in France, as people seek relief in rivers and other bodies of water despite authorities’ warnings about unsupervised swimming. Most of the drownings involved young people, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday.

The all-time record temperature recorded earlier this week in the Spanish village of Tama, known for its cooler weather and green landscape. The current bout of heat wave has affected Spain’s normally more temperate northern regions along the Atlantic coast.

Pan Pylas in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona contributed.

Tourists are sprayed with water next to the Colosseum, in Rome, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

Young men jump from a bridge into a river, in Lille, northern France, Wednesday June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

People shade from the sun under umbrellas as they walk through St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A girl jumps in a canal to cool off during a heatwave in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Parisians bath in the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments, about half the country, under a red heat wave alert, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena )

An Icelandic horse is sprayed with water a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, on a hot Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Tourists with an umbrella take a photo in Paris, as France is enduring a grueling heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena )

A man on a train wipes sweat from his face on a hot day in London, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Formula 1 drivers will carry extra cooling gear for this week’s Austrian Grand Prix after “heat hazard” rules were activated as hot weather causes disruption across Europe.

It's the first time F1's heat rules, introduced last year, have been used for a race in Europe.

A heat hazard applies when temperatures above 31 degrees C (88 F) are forecast for race day. It can get much hotter inside the cramped cockpits where drivers sit wearing layers of flameproof clothing. A forecast on the F1 website dated Wednesday said the maximum temperature expected for Sunday's race was 32 C.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri predicted the start would be the toughest to handle, without air flowing over the car and cooling the drivers at least a little.

“When you’ve got no air coming in, that’s when it’s the worst," he said.

While Alpine's Pierre Gasly has been running in the heat in his home city of Milan, Piastri has built his own hot-weather training setup in his bathroom.

“I’ve got a few portable heaters and a small bathroom and an exercise bike,” the Australian said. "You can cause yourself a lot of discomfort, a lot of pain by doing that. I do that for the benefit of my performance. Not for pleasure, that’s for sure.”

The FIA declaring the heat hazard on Thursday means drivers either need to use cooling equipment or carry extra weight to ensure there's no competitive advantage from not using the equipment.

Drivers wear vests which pump cooling liquid through a network of tubes, linked to pumping equipment inside the car. Some drivers dislike wearing the equipment because they say it's uncomfortable or distracting.

The FIA started work on cooling technology for drivers after the Qatar Grand Prix in 2023 saw drivers require medical attention after feeling unwell in the heat.

Heat hazard rules were first used at the hot and humid Singapore Grand Prix last year and also for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

One driver who isn't sweating the heat is Cadillac's Sergio Perez.

“I’m Mexican, so for me this is not too warm," he said. "It makes me laugh that all the Europeans are concerned about this level of heat. But for me it’s pretty average.” Perez said he'll still wear the cooling vest, though.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Cadillac driver Sergio Perez of Mexico walks through the paddock as he arrives for the Austrian F1 Grand Prix, in Spielberg, Austria, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks through the paddock as he arrives for the Austrian F1 Grand Prix, in Spielberg, Austria, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain walks through the paddock ahead of the Austrian F1 Grand Prix, in Spielberg, Austria, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy looks from a balcony before the Austrian F1 Grand Prix, in Spielberg, Austria, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)