The streets across Europe are absolutely baking right now as this massive heatwave shifts east from Spain, France, and the UK straight toward Germany and the Czech Republic. Forecasters in Germany are warning that the mercury is about to hit a crazy 40 degrees Celsius in the west and southwest, and the Czech Republic is already under extreme weather warnings. It’s gettin' real out here, and the system is struggling to keep up with the temperature spike.

Over in France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had to pull the alarm, raising the national health alert to its absolute highest level. They are moving to level three of the Orsan health emergency plan just to keep the hospitals from completely folding under the pressure and to protect the people who can't protect themselves. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist let it be known that this heat isn't just hurting the elderly—it’s taking out young people too.

The situation in Rennes is especially heavy. Professor Louis Soulas, the head of the local ER, reported that five or six people aged 60 and up were found dead in their homes. Emergency workers had to go check on them after they didn't pick up their phones during welfare calls. Soulas warned that the intensive care units in the region are completely saturated, meaning there ain't no room left as they hit a peak of activity. Rennes hit an insane 40.6 degrees Celsius on Monday, only to break its own fresh record the very next day by hitting 41 degrees.

Down in Paris, the heat has been holding the city hostage for days, and the mortality rate is going up. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire went on TV to tell people to stop acting like they’re bulletproof. He got on the airwaves and put about 100 joggers on blast for running the streets at 19:30 during a red alert, calling them straight-up "irresponsible" and telling everyone to take a couple of days off from working out. When the block is hot, you gotta lay low, no cap.

On top of that, we're seeing some real tragedy hitting families. A three-year-old child was found dead in a car in the Paris region, just days after two other young kids died in their family's car down in the southern town of Carpentras. It's a heavy reminder of how fast things can go wrong when the heat gets this disrespectful, and you got to watch out for the little ones.

To make matters worse, the infrastructure is slipping. Three nuclear power plants in France had to go offline because of the heat. Think about that: when the people need the AC and power the most, the grid starts failing. This is happening right as the western part of France is getting ready for massive thunderstorms with wind gusts up to 110 kilometers per hour. They even had to cancel the first day of the Garorock festival in Lot-et-Garonne because temperatures were expected to touch 42 degrees.

Even the high-ups at the United Nations are weighing in. UN climate chief Simon Stiell said this savage heatwave has the "fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it" and called for a quick move to renewables, protecting the forests, and beefing up climate resilience. According to the Copernicus climate service, Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest-warming continent on the map.

With Italy getting ready to see temperatures climb past 40 degrees on Monday, this heatwave isn't letting up anytime soon. From the hospital wards to the power grid, the system is showing its cracks, and regular people are the ones paying the price. Stay safe, look out for your neighbors, and keep out of the midday sun because this heat is playing for keeps.

Sources: * French Ministry of Health and Prevention (Ministère de la Santé et de la Prévention) * Météo-France (National Meteorological Service of France) * Copernicus Climate Change Service (European Union) * United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)