Dangerous temperatures forecast for central and eastern Europe

Parts of central, eastern and southern Europe sweltered on Monday as the “heat dome” behind last week’s record-breaking temperatures shifted east, bringing dangerous conditions to a new swathe of the continent. Budapest is forecast to exceed 40C on Tuesday, according to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Belgrade and Bucharest reached 38C and 37C respectively on Monday as the heatwave, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths in western Europe, moved east. “The two hardest days of the heatwave are coming. Let’s show that we are capable of complete national unity. Let’s look out for each other,” Hungary’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, wrote on X on Monday. Hungarian authorities published a list of more than 2,000 air-conditioned cooling centres across the country for people unable to find relief from the heat in their homes. Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued across Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with authorities urging people to stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day. Germany recorded its highest temperature for a third consecutive day on Sunday, with preliminary data from the DWD weather service showing 41.7C in Coschen, Brandenburg. The extreme heat disrupted transport in several cities after tram tracks buckled, while Berlin police deployed water cannon to cool crowds gathering in public spaces. …