Infrastructure failures are mounting in Germany as extremely high temperatures continue to grip much of Europe.
LONDON (AP) – Authorities in Germany reported highway damage and train cancellations Saturday as a the heat wave that brought the countries of Western Europe this week it moves to the central and eastern parts of the continent.
Temperatures in Germany are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). In the western town of Dormagen, dozens of residents of a nursing home were evacuated for medical attention due to dangerously hot conditions in the building.
The local fire department reported that temperatures inside the home had reached 35 C (95 F). Air conditioning is not widespread in Germany and many European countries because the continent is largely unused to such oppressive heat.
One resident of the house died overnight, but it was not yet clear whether the heat was the cause, a city spokesman told the German news agency dpa.
Even Germany’s famous Autobahn was overcrowded. In two places outside Berlin, the concrete of the A2 cracked from the high temperatures and had to be closed. Other highway damage was also reported across the country, according to German daily Bild.
Train operator Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies advised against all non-essential travel on long-distance and regional trains this weekend.
“Germany’s transport infrastructure is being hit hard by record heat this weekend,” Deutsche Bahn said in a statement, adding that passengers could return tickets and get their money back if they chose not to travel.
Hospitals under great pressure in France
In France, temperatures were dropping as the peak of the heat wave began to pass in some parts of the country. But hospitals remained under heavy pressure in the face of heat-related emergencies, including heart attacks, heatstroke, dehydration and heat-related deaths.
IN CAPITALParis’ public hospital authority said it activated its emergency response plan in all 38 hospitals to deal with a continued surge in activity.
In a statement on Friday evening, the AP-HP hospitals authority said its emergency departments treated nearly 3,000 patients in the past 24 hours, over a third more than normal, with a large proportion of them over the age of 75 requiring hospitalisation.
Phone calls to its medical dispatch centers rose nearly 80% compared to the same period in 2025, the authority said.
Three-quarters of France, which includes tens of millions of people, was placed under a red alert for extreme heat on Thursday and Friday after the mercury reached 40 C (104 F) in some places, including Paris.
The country recorded its hottest day ever on Wednesday, as the average temperature measured at 30 French weather stations reached 30 C (86 F.).
UK temperatures slowly drop after 3 days of record heat
In the UK, cold conditions are expected to ease gradually this weekend, although an amber warning – a step down from red – remained in place until Saturday evening.
Britons struggled to cope this week as June’s record temperature was broken for three days in a row. Friday was confirmed as the country’s hottest June day on record, with a temporary high of 37.3C (99F) recorded in eastern England.
It was more than 1C hotter than the long-standing UK June heat record set in the summer of 1976.
On Saturday, police said the body of a 22-year-old man was recovered from a river after he reportedly got into trouble in the water during the heat wave.
Authorities have warned people to take extra care when swimming in unsupervised areas, such as rivers or lakes, following the deaths of around 40 people in France over the past week.
By SYLVIA HUI, KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press
Grishaber reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris.
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