The United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and western parts of Russia were most affected.

In the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, July 2006 was the warmest month since official measurements began.

The heatwave even warmed the normally cool and wet Scottish summer, with Glasgow having a July high of 22.7 °C (72.9 °F) and low of 13.7 °C (56.7 °F), which made it the warmest month on record.

[2] Because of the northerly location and marine nature, it was not a heat wave in a general sense, but rather unusually warm weather.

Following the dry winter, with extreme temperatures occurring in the country and little rain, increasing strain was put on water supplies, and hose-pipe bans were issued in many counties.

Some power cuts occurred, after lightning strikes and some due to large amounts of electricity used by air conditioners.

In Central London on 27 July 2006 a series of power cuts hit Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Turner Broadcasting UK and Oxford Circus causing the closure of shops and businesses, when pre-existing faults were worsened by heavy demand.

Denmark experienced the warmest July ever with an average temperature (day and night) of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), breaking a record of 19.5 °C (67.1 °F) set in 1994.

[7] High temperatures in France destroyed many crops, just days before the harvest period, while French officials said at least 40 people were confirmed to have been killed by the heat wave directly.

Ireland was affected from the heat wave from the start of June, and the warm weather continued until the end of July.

The sunniest day during the two months (and indeed, the year) was on 25 June, when Malin Head, County Donegal, recorded 15.8 hours of sunshine.

The months of June and July 2006 are regarded as one of the best summers ever due to the high levels of sunshine, warm temperatures and low rainfall.

Drought and health problems were not an issue in Ireland, unlike many parts of Europe – mostly because the heat was not as severe there.

July 2006 With a monthly average of 22.3 °C (72.1 °F), KNMI statistics show July 2006 was the warmest-ever month on record for the Netherlands.KNMI Klimaatdata en Advies - Informatie over verleden weer Around 500 or 1,000 more people than usual died in July 2006.CBS - 500 extra doden in warme juliweken - Webmagazine The Four Day Marches of Nijmegen were cancelled after only one day as hundreds of people collapsed the first day, two of them eventually dying due to fatal heat stroke.

A few hundred meters across the border into Germany, at the weather station Kalkar, located at the airport in Weeze, near Nijmegen, a maximum of 38.6 °C (101.5 °F) was recorded on 19 July.

Warnings were broadcast on television and radio, advising people to stay indoors as much as possible because the air pollution was very unhealthy, the smog was very strong and it was dangerously hot.

On 30 January 2007, the United Nations published a report of all countries in the world with the most deaths related to natural disasters for 2006.

The river water levels were the lowest ever reported in Polish history and in the absence of rain, many crops dried up.

According to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the city of Lund in Skåne in southern Sweden had the highest average temperatures (day and night: 21.7 °C (71.1 °F)) for the month of July since records began in 1859.

Many weather experts report this to be a direct consequence of the heat wave, as the high evaporation rate caused the atmosphere to generate many low pressure areas.

The pressure zone changes were a consequence of the extra-tropical remnants of Atlantic hurricanes settling over the British Isles.

With temperatures from the north of the Netherlands to the south of Belgium ranging between 16 and 18 °C (61 and 64 °F) at the end of November, previous records were shattered.

Such a sequence of events is unheard of in the Netherlands meteorological history, estimated to happen every 8,000 years when not taking global warming into account.

It's been a result of a unique mixture of the hot summer increasing marine temperatures and Northern Atlantic hurricanes settling as depressions off the coast of Scotland, giving the European continent a constant stream of southern, fast winds rendering it unable to cool down from the Mediterranean through to northern Europe.

A very rare föhn-like warm spell affected northern and western France on 25 November and brought temperature as high as 18 °C (64 °F) at 7 in the morning in Paris.

December, January and February also brought extremely mild weather making the winter of 2006/2007 the warmest in recorded history.

Like the rest of Western Europe, August 2006 saw a dramatic turnaround, being a cloudy and wet month in many parts with daytime maxima below average – although the Central England Temperature (CET) was close to the long-term average, due to the cloud keeping night minima higher than normal.

Early September brought gusty winds in Poland, near Bydgoszcz in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship tornado passed, which escaped with the roots of several hundred trees.

In January 2007, the maximum temperature increased to 20 °C (68 °F), especially in the south, where often blow halny – a foehn wind, and in Elblag during the day 13 °C (55 °F), and at night 10 °C (50 °F).

December 2006 and January 2007 were the warmest months in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan and other cities of European Russia.