CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

2006 European heatwave

heat wave

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ2511876 ↗
Source-derived summary

The 2006 European heat wave was a period of exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of June 2006 in certain European countries. The United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and western parts of Russia were most affected.

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

Country-by-country

Belgium

Belgium experienced two heat waves in July 2006. Before 1990, a heat wave occurred about once every 8 years. Currently, the country averages one heat wave per year. On 19 July 2006, temperatures throughout the entire country rose to 36.2 °C (97.2 °F), causing it, at that moment, to be the hottest July day since 1947. The highest temperatures were recorded at the stations of Kleine Brogel and Genk, which measured 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) and 38.3 °C (100.9 °F), respectively.

In some regions, more particularly Limburg, 36 consecutive days of temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) have been measured in one continuous local heat wave instead of two separate periods of hot weather (according to the official Belgian rules for registering a heat wave).

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “2006 European heatwave” as heat wave. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2006, 1990, 1947—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where European, heatwave and heat can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as heat wave. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2511876. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006, 1990 and 1947.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “2006 European heatwave”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 2006 European heatwave primary sources, 2006 European heatwave archive and European research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2006 European heatwave”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “2006 European heatwave” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.