A heatwave in southern Europe caused hundreds of deaths, triggering red heat warnings in Italy and Croatia on June 29, 2026. Wildfires also emerged in the Balkans.

Italian authorities placed 22 cities under red heat warnings. These warnings covered an area from Bolzano in the north to Palermo in Sicily. In Croatia, the weather service issued red alerts for several regions, including Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik. Firefighters and four aircraft were deployed to battle a wildfire in pine forests located on the Adriatic island of Vis, approximately 55km southwest of Split.

According to the World Health Organization, there have been 1,300 excess deaths across Europe since June 21, 2026. France reported 1,000 excess deaths linked to the heatwave. The heatwave in Europe began on June 20, 2026. Temperatures above 35C (95F) were forecast for parts of Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Hungary. Firefighters in Albania contained a wildfire near the southern village of Klos.

Italian Air Force meteorologist Daniele Mocio stated that current temperatures were expected to remain eight to 10 degrees Celsius above average for several days. Luca Mercalli, President of the Italian Meteorological Society, said, "With the extreme heat the risk of forest fires increases, but we are also seeing a lot of rainstorms, which obviously mitigates that risk." Mercalli added that another surge of hot weather was expected to begin around July 5 or 6, potentially impacting France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and parts of Britain. The French public health agency stated that most heatwave victims in France were older people.

Scientists stated that the heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change. They also said that human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme night-time temperatures by 100 times compared to two decades prior. On June 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, posted on X that Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average. He also stated, "Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer.'" He added, "European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures."