European heatwave in five graphics: Where are the hot spots? How high will temperatures go?

Southern Europe is having a brutally hot week, with temperatures expected to top 40 degrees in places. Europe’s third heatwave in a month is expected to affect much of the Mediterranean and to last until Wednesday. Italian health officials have intensified heat warnings, and Spain’s Aemet weather agency said the heatwave this week “will affect a large part of the countries bordering the Mediterranean” with temperatures in some southern areas of Spain exceeding 42 degrees.

The heat has been building as a result of a large area of high pressure across central parts of Mediterranean, and even hotter conditions will develop as a surge of high temperatures moves in from north Africa. The Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia may approach 48 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday, close to the all-time European record of 48.8 degrees set in Sicily in August 2021.

The charts below summarise the heatwave and its geographical context. They look at: Where are the hotspots in the European heatwave?; The seven day weather forecast for European cities; June global surface temperatures; Sea surface temperature differences in June 2023; The record temperature recorded in Europe.