[2] The June heatwave was the result of an interaction among the high pressures that generate atmospheric stability; Tropical Storm Alex; the strong sunshine of the boreal summer; and an air mass emanating from North Africa that had entered the Iberian Peninsula loaded with suspended dust that caused haze in the centre and south of the peninsula.

In July 2023, researchers from Barcelona Institute for Global Health estimated 61,672 heat-induced problems between 30 May and 4 September in a finding published in Nature Medical.

The researchers said that they used weekly mortality data to develop their model which may not allow for short-term changes and hence may underestimate the actual number of deaths.

[37] In November 2023, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health revised their number to over 70,000 "excess" deaths after developing a new method to calculate the mortality rate.

Temperatures peaked on 23 July, reaching 38–39 °C (100–102 °F) in cities including Zagreb, Osijek, Karlovac, Slavonski Brod, Knin.

The heat was ended the same day by a cold front in continental Croatia, but higher temperatures continued in the southern part of the country, which had been suffering a drought since 2021.

The departments on red alert were mainly those located in the south-west, along the Atlantic coast and the south; the heat was generally less severe further north and east.

[23] On 6 September, Le Monde unveiled a report by INSEE, estimating the number of deaths due to the summer (between 1 June and 22 August) heatwaves was likely 11,000.

[73] On 2 August, Lake Velence reached record low water levels of 58 cm (23 in) due to severe drought.

[75] On 9 August, the National Directorate General for Water issued a press release, which stated that in the first 7 months of 2022, the amount of rainfall was 45 per cent below average, making it the driest year since 1901.

[81] Met Éireann subsequently issued a Status Yellow high-temperature warning for Ireland on 15 July, with "exceptionally" high temperatures possibly reaching 32 °C (90 °F).

[89][90] Met Éireann issued a nationwide Status Orange thunderstorm warning on 14 August, with heavy downpours of rain and hail forecast.

[97] On 5 July, a state of emergency was declared in five northern regions in response to a severe drought in the Po valley, the worst in 70 years, and later for Tuscany.

[110] Extreme heat is rare in the Netherlands; there have been only nine days with temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) since the start of measurement at the central weather station in 1901 (as of 18 July 2022[update]).

[120] In July, a total of 30,000 ha (74,000 acres) were burnt by wildfires in Leiria, blocking a part of the A1 motorway that runs from Porto to Lisbon.

[121] A pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in Vila Nova de Foz Côa while combating wildfires in the region.

The inflow of warm air from the south-west intensified to the point when at least two weather stations recorded a temperature of 35 °C (95 °F) or more from 27 June until the end of the month.

[136] Along with periods of wind, long-lasting and severe droughts were mentioned as one of the key factors that facilitated the spread of the wildfires that broke out in the Karst Plateau around the southern part of the Italy–Slovenia border on 17 July and became the most extensive spread of wildfires ever recorded in Slovenia three days later, when it was reported that an estimated 1,900 ha (4,700 acres) of land were burnt.

[137][138] By 25 July, the spread of the wildfires in the Karst Plateau was largely stopped, but minor fires were still appearing in the affected areas.

[139][140] On 5 August, temperatures exceeding 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) were recorded at five stations in the ARSO network, reaching 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) in Dobliče, Litija and the Bežigrad District of Ljubljana, and 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) in Celje and at Cerklje ob Krki Airport.

The agency issued special notice number 3/2022 with information about the phenomenon and initiated a national plan of preventive actions with a level-assignment map.

It was predicted that the peak of the heatwave would be reached on Friday, 17 June, with the possibility of record-breaking temperatures in Zaragoza, Lleida and Córdoba.

[152] In its daily statement, AEMET predicted the end of the weather episode for 18 June, with hot African air causing instability and a drop in temperatures.

"[152] The first day of application of the "Iberian exception", by which the regulated price of electricity is calculated with a cap on gas for its generation, was 15 June.

The PVPC is the voluntary price for the small consumer, for which more will be paid for electricity for compensation to thermal power plants and the greater use of gas and coal in the midst of a heatwave.

[158] On 17 July, a wildfire began in El Pont de Vilomara, Catalonia, which burnt 30 houses and more than 1,700 ha (4,200 acres) of land.

[173] According to Met Office forecasts, the heat peak would arrive on Friday, reaching the necessary threshold for heatwave consideration, before temperatures dropped significantly on 18 June.

[175] On 15 July, the UKHSA increased the Heatwave Alert Level to 4, "illness and death occurring among the fit and healthy—and not just in high-risk groups".

[176] The Met Office issued its first ever red extreme heat warning after there were forecasts of over 40 °C (104 °F) in some parts of England, and a national emergency was declared.

[179] Between 18 and 19 July, the United Kingdom experienced its highest recorded minimum nighttime temperature, at 25.9 °C (78.6 °F) at Emley Moor, West Yorkshire.