Germany and Italy swelter in heatwave as records tumble across Europe

Germany ⁠and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in western Europe spread eastwards, after temperatures broke records above 40C (104F). Denmark registered its highest temperature on record on Saturday, according to the Danish meteorological institute. “With 36.6C north of Odense, we have the warmest day ever since measurements began in 1874,” it said in a post on X. Slovakia confirmed that Friday night was its warmest on record, with temperatures not dropping below 26.3C. Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany have experienced record heat in June, and the weather system could set more records as it moves towards Poland. Scientists said the ⁠heatwave would have been virtually impossible without human-made ​climate change, which has made this week’s night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been two decades ago. “The heatwave is going to peak at the weekend at well over 40 degrees in some parts of Germany,” said Karsten Brandt, a meteorologist at the weather ⁠forecasting site Donnerwetter. A German record of 41.3C was reached near the city of Saarbrücken close to the French border on Friday, a spokesperson for Germany’s national meteorological service said, noting the reading was still preliminary. The service issued extreme heat warnings for nearly all of Germany on Saturday as authorities ⁠urged people to save water. …