EUROPE — Approximately 40 people have died while trying to escape the extreme heat over the course of the past week, according to French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
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A dangerous, record-shattering summer heat wave is tightening its grip across Europe as a massive heat dome locks sweltering temperatures over the continent.
As many major cities sit in the high 90s and triple digits — topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) — schools have been closed across Europe alongside widespread train cancellations, with officials issuing urgent safety warnings as extreme conditions turn deadly.
The driving force behind the extreme weather is a stout mid-level ridge of high pressure anchored over western and central Europe.
These systems are the same engines that drive extreme summer warmth in the United States, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
To visualize the pattern, think of the system as a giant lid trapping air underneath an atmospheric dome. The compressed air continuously heats up, causing temperatures to skyrocket 20 to 25 degrees above average.
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This stubborn setup prevents cooler ocean air or rain clouds from breaking through, meaning that the longer the ridge stays parked, the more the ground bakes and the more intense the daily heat becomes.
Western European nations like France and Spain have borne the brunt of the initial surge, as the dangerous heatwave has been building for days.
Underscoring the extreme conditions, all-time heat records have been shattered in many locations across France, with Wednesday bringing the hottest day on record for the country and more benchmarks are likely to be broken as the week continues.
In fact, extreme conditions have even forced the Eiffel Tower to adjust its operating hours, while the Louvre Museum will close early through Saturday to ensure optimal visiting conditions during the heatwave.
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Tragically, the French prime minister confirmed Tuesday that up to 40 people have drowned since June 18.
He noted that the victims were "mainly young people" who were swimming in unsupervised waters to escape the scorching conditions.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in France is 114.6 degrees (45.9 Celsius) and occurred in Gallargues-le-Montueux on June 28, 2019, which could be broken this week.
France's meteorological department noted that the intensity of this heat wave rivals the deadly 2003 heatwave that struck western Europe.
The key difference this time is duration, as the current heat wave is expected to break much sooner than the 16-day stretch seen in 2003.
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Additionally, temperatures are soaring across the United Kingdom, where the country has preliminarily broken its all-time hottest June temperature record after a high of 97.5 degrees (36.4 Celsius) was recorded at Yeovilton.
This new milestone surpasses a record set just a day earlier on Wednesday, which had already shattered a long-standing benchmark dating back half a century to 1976.
Driven by these same extreme conditions, London remains under a rare red warning on Thursday.
That said, the core of the heat will likely last all this week.
The lack of residential air conditioning makes these intense European heat waves uniquely dangerous due to the small percentage of homes across the continent that have cooling.
Stick with FOX Weather for the latest on this dangerous heat wave.
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