In France, July was the hottest month on record.

July 2026 was the hottest month ever recorded in France. This was reported on the BFM TV channel on August 4.

"The average temperature reached +24.9 degrees. July was the hottest since the beginning of observations in 1900," said a French reporter, an excerpt of the issue was published on the channel's Telegram channel.

With a record drought in July, the country was hit by the second heat wave since the beginning of the summer season, which lasted from July 4 to July 19.

"July was particularly outstanding, exceeding all [temperature] standards in France. <...> Indeed, this year summer is breaking all records. Even the first heat wave came to the country not at the beginning of summer, but at the end of May. This is something new," the report says.

It is noted that the country is facing climate change much earlier than experts predicted. According to estimates by the French meteorological service, such heat could become the norm in France in the 2050s.

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In the summer of 2026, France faced at least four heat waves, during which thermometers in many regions exceeded 40 °C. The most critical peak of the heat occurred in the third decade of June, when the country introduced the highest, "red" level of meteorological danger.

According to the European mortality monitoring system on July 13, at least 10,000 people died in Europe due to the extreme heat that covered the western part of the continent at the end of June. The data was collected from the national mortality statistics of 27 European countries for the week from 22 to 28 June, when the heat reached its peak in France, Spain, the UK and other countries.