Marseille, 28 June 2025 — From Portugal’s Algarve to the Greek Peloponnese, the Mediterranean basin slipped into full-blown “oven mode” this weekend as the season’s first major heatwave throttled up. Meteorological services warned that the stagnant high-pressure dome sprawling over the region is likely to linger, shoving daytime readings past 40 °C (104 °F) and pushing nighttime “lows” into the high 20s.dw.com
In Italy alone, civil-protection officials hoisted red-alert flags over 17 cities on Saturday, and forecasts show the list swelling to 21 by Sunday. Milan, Bologna and Palermo are all preparing for 39–41 °C peaks, while Rome’s health authority has placed extra emergency staff on stand-by to handle heatstroke and dehydration cases.english.news.cn
The rising danger is not restricted to Italy. Spain’s Andalusian scrublands are now classified “extreme” for wildfire risk, and Portugal’s national fire service has pre-deployed brigades around the Serra da Estrela after forecasters warned of gusty, desiccating winds on Monday.phys.org
Cities are scrambling for quick fixes. Seville handed out thousands of reusable water flasks at tram stops, Venice suspended some outdoor construction from noon to 5 p.m., and Marseille opened its subterranean shopping arcade as a “cool zone” for unhoused residents. Tourists, meanwhile, have turned local fountains into de-facto splash pools; street vendors report that chilled water now outsells gelato two-to-one.france24.com
Climatologists warn that each successive summer is resetting the baseline. Europe has warmed roughly twice as fast as the global average over the past four decades, and the frequency of multi-day “tropical nights” — when the mercury never drops below 25 °C — has tripled in parts of the Mediterranean since 1990.dw.comphys.org
With July looming, public-health agencies are pleading for vigilance: hydrate, check on the elderly, and reschedule strenuous work until dawn or dusk. In other words, in Southern Europe’s newest season — call it High Summer — survival is the only must-do on the itinerary.
