Two elderly people have died from heat-related illness in Genoa, Italy, and twin 15-month-old girls have been found dead of suspected dehydration in northern France, as a record-breaking heatwave continues to grip parts of Europe. The deaths, reported by local authorities on Monday, underscore the lethal toll of extreme temperatures that have triggered red alerts from the Mediterranean to the English Channel.

In Genoa, the local health authority (Asl 3) confirmed that an 86-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman died at the Policlinico San Martino hospital. The man was admitted two days earlier with a fever of 42°C and severe dehydration; he died in critical condition. The woman arrived at the emergency department in cardiac arrest, with a body temperature of 43°C and profound hyperthermia, and did not regain consciousness. Italian emergency services reported a 12–15 per cent surge in call volumes, with a 10 per cent rise in life-threatening cardiovascular emergencies, predominantly affecting the elderly.

In the northern French town of Beuvrages, near Valenciennes, police detained a couple after their 15-month-old twin daughters were found dead in their beds. The parents had alerted emergency services around midday, but by the time responders arrived rigor mortis had already set in, according to a police source. Preliminary findings point to dehydration as the cause of death. The couple’s four other children, aged three to six, were hospitalised with dehydration but are not in a life-threatening condition. Neighbours described the family, who had moved to the area two months ago, as unremarkable and not known to social services; the mayor, Ali Ben Yahia, said they were “well integrated into the life of our community” and that an investigation is under way to establish the circumstances.

France experienced a spike in deaths during last week’s record-breaking heatwave, with several small children dying in locked cars. The Nord department had been under the highest red heat alert for several days, though temperatures had dropped to green by Monday. In Italy, the health ministry placed 22 cities under red alert on Monday, rising to 25 on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Florence facing a twelfth consecutive day of maximum heat warning. The investigation in Beuvrages continues, and no charges have been filed.