France records around 1,000 additional deaths as extreme heat sets European records

BERLIN (AP) — France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country's public health agency said Sunday, as the head of the World Health Organization warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent and needs to do more to protect its citizens.

Temperature records were toppled in several countries on the weekend, wildfires were sparked in Germany and Berlin police used water cannons to cool down the crowds.

Meanwhile, the heat wave slowly moved toward eastern parts of the continent.

Germany marked a new record for the third day in a row with 41.7 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) in Neißemünde, near the border with Poland. The Czech Republic also experienced its hottest day ever with 41.1 C (106.4 F).

A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported Friday that the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this past week would not have been possible without climate change.

The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

France reported a surge in deaths last week, including a sharp increase at private homes, especially in the Paris region, the national public health agency said Sunday.

There were more than 1,200 deaths on Wednesday, when France was sweltering under its hottest temperatures, increasing to more than 1,400 deaths on each of the two following days, Public Health France said. In April and May, before the heat wave, France’s rate of deaths was about 900 to 1,000 per day.

The agency concluded that France experienced a total of at least 1,000 additional deaths during those three days alone, an estimate it cautioned is likely to increase as more data is collected, including for deaths at home.

The increase was sharpest in areas under red warnings of extreme heat, it said. Those warnings blanketed about three-quarters of the country at the peak of the heat wave. The agency said that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 and above.

“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday on X. “Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling.”

Driven by climate change and global warming, the “once-in-a-generation” heat wave is now occurring nearly every year, Tedros said, adding that more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since June 21 linked to high temperatures in Europe.

“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” Tedros warned as he called on European countries to implement action plans. He said they should focus on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses.

In Sweden, several people were injured when they were hit by lightning at an amusement park, the country's TT news agency reported.

Three adults were taken to the hospital, among them a woman with serious injuries, after the lightning struck the Tosselilla Sommarland park in Tomelilla in the south of the country.

Across Europe, the extreme heat has been followed by severe thunderstorms.

Denmark, which marked new temperature records on Saturday, recorded 1,156 lighting strikes by Sunday morning, according to public broadcaster DR.

In Gohrischheide, in eastern Germany, a fire broke out in a large forest that's still contaminated with ammunition from World War II, which made the firefighters' efforts even more complicated.

Similarly, a major firefighting operation was underway in southwest Germany near the village of Traisen, where the heat sparked a forest fire in an area that also contained unexploded ordnance. Firefighters had to be temporarily stop after explosions took place and an ordnance disposal unit was brought in to continuously assess the situation, German news agency dpa reported. Some 650 people in Traisen had to leave their homes Sunday afternoon because the fire continued to spread.

The big cities' fire departments were busy sending out ambulances to people suffering from heat-related illnesses. In Berlin, an additional 500 ambulance dispatches were reported on Saturday, most of them heat-related.

The German capital's police found a way to help suffering Berliners and tourists alike. They put up two huge water cannons — usually used to disperse unruly protesters — in front of the city's iconic Brandenburg Gate and sprayed the cool water across the cheering crowd.

The heat also continued to damage the country's infrastructure, with the concrete surface on countless highways breaking up, and a weekend warning by national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to avoid all unnecessary train travel.

More than 600 passengers had to be evacuated from an overheated train in Brandenburg after a tree fell onto an overhead power line during a storm on Saturday evening. The train, which was on its way from Hamburg to Prague, lost power. The air conditioners stopped working and the doors were locked until emergency responders forced them open. Two people were hospitalized with heat-related problems, dpa reported.

In the eastern city of Leipzig, no trams will be running until early Monday morning due to heat damage to tracks and switches. The Leipzig Public Transportation Authority said that the high temperatures had caused the joint sealant for asphalt and concrete in switches and tracks to run and clump together in many places throughout the city's network.

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Leicester reported from Paris. Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

People shelter from sun with umbrellas as they wait for the Angelus noon prayer celebrated by Pope Leo XIV from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People refresh in a fountain after the Angelus noon prayer celebrated by Pope Leo XIV from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People crowd the beach at the seaside resort on the island of Rügen, Germany, Saurday, June 27, 2026, as the heat wave continues over Europe. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP)

The city of Lyon, central France, is seen during a heat wave, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Thousands of fans are celebrating at a concert by techno star Paul Kalkbrenner on the Heiligengeistfeld while a water cannon is in operation on Saturday, June 27, 2026 in Hamburg, Germany. (Marcus Golejewski/dpa via AP)

A prolonged heat wave with high temperatures exceeding caused significant damage to the tram infrastructure in Leipzigv Germany on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

A couple walks by a public fountain on a torrid day, as the National Weather forecaster issued an extreme heat code red warning for parts of the country, in the coming days in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

BEAVER, Utah (AP) — Three firefighters died and two were injured while tackling fires on the Colorado-Utah border, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service reported Sunday.

The agency — created earlier this year to streamline firefighting and fire reduction across public lands — said the firefighters had been part of an interagency response to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday.

“The U.S. Wildland Fire Service stands united with the USDA Forest Service in grief and in our unwavering support for the loved ones left behind. Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten," it said in a statement on Facebook.

Wildfire activity has intensified across the western United States, as consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather have fueled flames in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere as new fires popped up across the region.

The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, was burning in rugged terrain in southwest Utah. It ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles (373 square kilometers) after marching through canyons and mountainsides, destroying part of a ski resort and other summer cabins along the way.

Authorities in Beaver County began working with fire teams on Saturday to assess the extent of the damage, but no estimates were immediately available. Gov. Spencer Cox in a post on social media called it bleak, but he thanked crews for what he called "several miraculous stops and saves.”

The cliffs and steep slopes have made the job even harder, said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire.

“It's hard to get dozers and other heavy equipment into that. It's hard to get engines into that,” she said. “It doesn't make it impossible to firefight, but it does just kind of slow things down.”

Hundreds of firefighters have been arriving in the arid state to battle new starts as well as those that have been growing because of what forecasters called critical fire weather — dangerously low humidity levels, warm temperatures and gusty winds.

The danger is even higher this year because of Utah's record-low snowpack and its warmest winter on record. Much of the West is grappling with similar conditions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

From Alaska to Florida, crews worked Saturday to corral dozens of fires, including three dozen that were classified as large and uncontained.

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) have burned since the start of the year. That is more than the 10-year average.

The conditions in Utah were critical enough for Gov. Spencer Cox to declare an emergency earlier this week and clear the way for the state to ban fireworks ahead of the July Fourth holiday. The order comes as Utah is experiencing one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent history, fueled by historic drought conditions.

State officials said that over the past week, Utah has seen an increase in wildfire starts, with each fire showing unprecedented behavior. These starts have stretched the state’s wildland firefighting capabilities, State Forester Jamie Barnes said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also declared an emergency on Saturday, and authorized the use of the National Guard to tackle the fires.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service over recent days have been issuing red flag warnings for a wide swath of the West, from California to Arizona and New Mexico.

South of Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said the flames of a new wildfire were moving away from Grand Canyon Village and the nearby community of Tusayan on Saturday. But about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, another fire prompted Coconino County officials to issue evacuation orders for those near Kendrick Mountain.

Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shut-off in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk.

Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It is usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography.

With extreme fire conditions persisting in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power also shut off power lines serving Beaver County and other areas.

Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.

A plume of smoke rises from the Cottonwood Fire, Friday, June 26, 2026, near Beaver, Utah. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A helicopter drops water on the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter watches as the Cottonwood Fire burns near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Sunrise on the Cottonwood Fire in Kingston, Utah, on Saturday , June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A helicopter drops water on the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)