The season is arriving hotter than it used to
In the final days of May 2026, western Europe found itself in the grip of a heatwave that reordered the rhythms of ordinary life — students sweating through national exams, athletes withdrawing from competition, governments convening emergency meetings. Portugal recorded 40.3°C in the town of Mora, surpassing a mark that had stood for a quarter century, while France, Italy, Spain, and Germany each confronted temperatures more typical of high summer. Scientists remind us that no single event tells the whole story, yet the accumulating pattern is unambiguous: a warming continent is learning, season by season, what it means to live at the edge of what human bodies and institutions were built to endure.
- A thermometer in Mora, Portugal, shattered the country's May record at 40.3°C, signaling that the heat gripping western Europe was not merely uncomfortable but historically unprecedented.
- French students sat baccalaureate exams in classrooms exceeding 30°C across nearly 78% of secondary schools, while one primary school recorded a staggering 53°C indoors and was forced to close — teachers pried windows open with screwdrivers just to survive the day.
- Italy's first red heatwave alerts of the year covered Rome, Florence, and Turin, warning that even healthy people faced health risks, as world tennis number one Jannik Sinner withdrew from the French Open after heat-related dizziness.
- Governments scrambled to respond — France restricted traffic, cut transport fares, and convened ministerial crisis meetings, while Portugal's forecasters promised only gradual relief after Friday's peak.
- Behind the immediate crisis, scientists and the UN issued a longer warning: Europe is warming at 0.56°C per decade, eleven of the hottest years on record have all fallen since 2015, and a new global temperature record is expected before 2031.
On Wednesday, a thermometer in the Portuguese town of Mora reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, breaking the country's record for the hottest May day ever recorded. The previous mark had stood since 2001. The milestone arrived not in isolation but as the leading edge of a heatwave pressing across western Europe, turning the last week of May into something that felt like the height of summer.
In France, the heat collided with an immovable institution: the baccalaureate exams. Students sat their national qualifications in classrooms that had become ovens, with nearly 78 percent of French secondary schools recording temperatures above 30 degrees that week. One primary school in the Landes region reached 53 degrees Celsius inside before closing its doors on Friday. Elsewhere, teachers brought fans and forced windows open with screwdrivers. Education Minister Édouard Geffray defended the decision to press on, arguing that exam centers could choose their coolest rooms and that schedules had been set. Teachers and unions were not persuaded.
Paris reached 33 degrees on Thursday, with the weekend forecast to be hotter still. Seventeen departments were placed under orange alert. The government moved quickly on practical fronts — restricting high-emission vehicles, lowering speed limits, and offering flat-rate public transport fares. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called a ministerial meeting to build a longer-term preparedness plan covering forest fires and water security through the summer.
Italy issued its first red heatwave alerts of the year for Rome, Florence, Bologna, Brescia, and Turin, warning explicitly that even healthy, active people could suffer health effects. In the sporting world, Jannik Sinner — the world's top-ranked tennis player — withdrew from the French Open after experiencing dizziness and lethargy during play. Spain and Germany also endured unusual heat, with Madrid forecast to reach 35 degrees over the weekend — temperatures the country normally associates with July and August.
Scientists are careful to note that no single event can be pinned solely on climate change, but the pattern is no longer ambiguous. Europe has warmed at 0.56 degrees Celsius per decade over the past thirty years. The United Nations warned on Thursday that global temperatures were likely to remain at or near record levels through at least 2029. All eleven of the hottest years ever recorded have occurred since 2015, and the UN's climate agency predicted a new record hottest year before 2031 — a trajectory that shows no sign of bending.
On Wednesday, a thermometer in the Portuguese town of Mora climbed to 40.3 degrees Celsius, breaking the country's record for the hottest day ever recorded in May. The previous mark, set a quarter-century earlier in 2001, had stood at 40 degrees. This new peak arrived as a punishing heatwave settled across western Europe, turning ordinary routines into endurance tests.
In France, students sat for their baccalaureate exams—the national qualification that shapes their academic futures—while classrooms became ovens. One primary school in Souston, in the Landes region, had reached 53 degrees Celsius inside by midweek and closed its doors on Friday rather than subject children to those conditions. Yet the exams continued elsewhere. Education Minister Édouard Geffray defended the decision by noting that exam centers could select their shadiest rooms and that students had prepared for these tests according to a fixed schedule. The reasoning did not satisfy teachers and unions. Nearly 78 percent of French secondary schools had recorded temperatures above 30 degrees that week. Some educators brought their own fans. Others used screwdrivers to force windows open, trying to coax any breeze into stifling spaces.
The heat reached Paris on Thursday at 33 degrees, with forecasts calling for 34 degrees by the weekend. Seventeen French departments were placed under orange alert, a status meant to keep people vigilant. The government responded with practical measures: police announced traffic restrictions allowing only lower-emission vehicles on certain roads, speed limits were lowered, and public transport offered a single fare for the entire network. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a ministerial meeting to develop a preparedness plan for future extreme heat events, addressing forest fire prevention and water supply security through the summer months.
Across the border, Italy issued red heatwave alerts—the first of the year—for Rome, Florence, Bologna, Brescia, and Turin. Rome topped out at 32 degrees on Thursday. The red alert carried an explicit warning: possible negative health effects even for healthy, active people. In the sporting world, Jannik Sinner, the world's top-ranked tennis player, withdrew from the French Open after experiencing dizziness and lethargy during competition. He later described it as a personal struggle rather than a direct complaint about the weather, but the heat had nonetheless forced him from the tournament.
Spain and Germany also endured unusually hot conditions. Madrid was forecast to reach 35 degrees over the weekend. While the current Spanish heat did not technically qualify as a heatwave by the nation's meteorological definition, the temperatures matched what the country typically experiences in July and August—two months away. Portugal's meteorological office predicted that parts of the country would exceed 35 degrees on Friday before the intensity began to ease.
Scientists have long cautioned that while individual extreme weather events cannot be definitively attributed to climate change, the broader pattern is unmistakable: climate change makes heatwaves more frequent and more severe. Over the past three decades, Europe has warmed at a rate of 0.56 degrees Celsius per decade, according to the Copernicus climate service—a pace sufficient to push heat extremes into dangerous territory. The United Nations issued a warning on Thursday that global average temperatures were likely to remain at or near record levels throughout this year and into the next four years. Of the eleven hottest years ever recorded, all have occurred since 2015. The UN's weather and climate agency predicted that a new hottest year on record would likely arrive before 2031, continuing a trend that shows no signs of reversing.
Notable Quotes
Exam centres would be able to choose rooms with the most shade, and exams would go ahead because students are prepared and there is a schedule according to which they expect their results.— French Education Minister Édouard Geffray
It was a tough spot to be in. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.— Jannik Sinner, after withdrawing from the French Open
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Portugal broke a May record specifically? Couldn't we just say it was the hottest day of the year so far?
Because May records tell us something different than annual records. May is supposed to be spring. A May record this high means the baseline itself has shifted—the season is arriving hotter than it used to. It's not just about one bad day; it's about what normal is becoming.
The French government kept the exams going even with schools at 53 degrees. That seems reckless. Why not postpone?
The minister's logic was schedule and fairness—if you postpone for some students but not others, you create inequality. But the real tension is that you're asking teenagers to sit for exams that determine their futures while their bodies are struggling with heat stress. There's no clean answer, which is probably why teachers felt forced to bring their own fans.
Jannik Sinner withdrew from the French Open. Is that significant, or just one athlete having a bad day?
It's significant because he's the best player in the world. If the heat is affecting him—someone with elite fitness and resources—it signals how extreme conditions have become. It's not about weakness; it's about the environment being genuinely hostile.
The UN says a new hottest year is "likely" before 2031. That's nine years away. Does that feel urgent to people living through this heatwave right now?
Probably not. When you're in 40-degree heat trying to keep your children cool, a prediction about 2031 feels abstract. But that's the disconnect—the immediate crisis and the long-term trend are the same story, just on different timescales.
What does a red alert actually do? Does it change anything on the ground?
It's a warning system. It tells hospitals to prepare, tells vulnerable people to stay indoors, tells authorities to open cooling centers. It doesn't stop the heat, but it's supposed to help people survive it. Whether it works depends on whether people have somewhere cool to go.