Summer Heatwave Impacts the Alps & Pyrenees
30th June 2025
Last modified on July 2nd, 2025
It’s the first time that June has seen the entire Alpine range above 0C (32F). It is bad for the glaciers but may give a boost to summer tourism in the mountains as people seek out cooler temperatures. UPDATED
The freezing level in the Alps has risen to over 5,000m as many parts of Europe are hit by the current heatwave.
In Switzerland the government has declared the second-highest danger level for large parts of the country.
Temperatures are between 32°C and 34°C on the southern side of the Alps with a relative humidity of up to 55%.
The weather station at Colle Major (4,750m) on Mt Blanc recorded a maximum of +3.7°C on Saturday June 28th.
View this post on Instagram
16 regions in France were on red alert on Tuesday, the country’s highest level, while 68 others were on orange alert.
All the alpine regions remain on orange alert.
France’s Climate Minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, called it an “unprecedented” situation.
Several forest fires have broken out in the southern Corbières mountain range in the French Pyrenees which led to some evacuations and the closure of a motorway.
Chamonix in the Summer. Image © PlanetSKI
In the Alps there has also been heavy rain that has led to flooding and landslides as we have reported elsewhere on PlanetSKI:
In the ski resort of Bardonecchia in northern Italy a 70-year-old man drowned after being caught in flash flooding.
He was swept away after stepping out of his vehicle.
Bardonecchia hosted the snowboarding events at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
“We are increasingly faced with emergency situations due to weather events that we used to call rare but are now more and more frequent,” said Piedmont’s President, Alberto Cirio.
“A water bomb hit the town of Bardonecchia, causing damage and unfortunately a victim,” he added.
The hot temperatures across the Alps are also having a significant impact on the summer glacier skiing conditions, and the glaciers themselves, with the melt accelerated.
In about 4 days from now, we are going to hit the #Glacier Loss Day in Switzerland! All melting from this point onwards till next winter is unsustainable, i.e. is long-term mass loss.
This is extremely early in the season! And just a bit behind the record-shattering year 2022… pic.twitter.com/RVXpuJ7yWo— Matthias Huss (@matthias_huss) June 30, 2025
However, the hotter temperatures may also give a boost to summer tourism as people seek out cooler temperatures in the mountains, rather than being by the sea where it is currently 40 degrees on many beaches by the Mediterranean.
Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe at 2,300m and its summer season opens this coming weekend, July 5th.
“Many local people come to the mountains from down in the valleys and cities when there is a heatwave,” said Anne-Laure Deves from the resort tourist office to PlanetSKI.
“It is comfortable t-shirt weather during the day and you may just need a light jumper in the evening as the temperature cools.
“In future years we believe many more people will be coming to the mountains in the summer to enjoy cooler temperatures.”
Anne-Laure Deves, Val Thorens. Image © PlanetSKI
It is a similar picture in the neighbouring ski resort of Les Menuires.
This week it has been 30 degrees during the day, but a cooler 12 degrees at night.
“More and more summer days are going to be warm in the coming years and the mountains offer a welcome respite from the heat, especially at night when people can sleep better, and there is little need for air-conditioning,” said Estelle Roy from the Les Menuires tourist office.
The resort has been focusing on summer in the mountains for the past few years.
“We offer plenty of activities from hiking & biking and with the hotter temperatures we are beginning to see more people enjoy summer at altitude,” Estelle added.
See her for more on what Les Menuires offers in the summer:
Summer in Les Menuires. Image c/o Vincent Lottenberg
Summer in Les Menuires. Image c/o Vincent Lottenberg
Current Glacier Skiing in the Alps:
Tignes was the last resort to open part of its summer ski area as it fired up some lifts on June 21st.
Its neighbour Val d’Isere opened earlier in June as we reported at the time.
Tignes has four weeks of operations planned from 21st June through to 20th July.
The Grande Motte glacier has slopes at an altitude of nearly 3,000 m.
Up to 20 km of glacier runs are available between 3,456m and 2,724m.
The lifts run daily until early afternoon, though the situation is dependent on the snow and weather conditions.
Areas now open in the Alps:
Austria: Hintertux
France: Les 2 Alpes, Tignes & Val d’Isere
Italy: Passo Stelvio & Cervinia (shared with Zermatt)
Switzerland: Zermatt (shared with Cervinia)
None of the ski areas has announced a need to close due to the warm temperatures.
Les2Alpes and Val d’Isere are expected to end their summer opening as scheduled this coming weekend.
Les2Alpes in the summer. Image © Claire McAteer/PlanetSKI
See here for some PlanetSKI reports on summer skiing and what else is on offer:
- PlanetSKI goes summer glacier skiing
- Glacier skiing: go while you still can
- Summer skiing in Les2Alpes: A sports lover’s dream
- Top resorts in the Alps for summer skiing
PlanetSKI: Number 1 for digital ski news
Your digital platform for ski news, resort information, travel, equipment rental, sport, money saving deals and everything connected with snowsports – web site, social media & more.
