Europe's Prison Crisis Intensifies Under Record Heat

In France, where prison occupancy hit 141.3 percent in July, inmates are relying on basic improvisations like wet towels to survive. Dominique Simonnot, the country's chief prison inspector, reported a record surge in complaints, describing conditions in nine-square-metre cells—often housing three or four people—as unbearable. While the Justice Ministry has provided fans and increased access to showers, officials admit that overcrowding remains a fundamental barrier to ensuring basic safety.

Italy faces similar pressures, with occupancy levels reaching 139.7 percent. The government has allocated 800,000 euros for cooling equipment and pledged to add 10,000 prison places, though no new facilities have been completed. Legislation has now been passed to move some inmates with addiction issues into home-based rehabilitation programs to alleviate density. Meanwhile, in Belgium, where occupancy stands at 121 percent, directors at facilities like Ghent and Merksplas have been forced to relax security protocols to allow for better airflow.

Experts and advocates argue that these interventions are merely stopgaps for a deeper structural failure. Decades of underinvestment have left facilities with poor ventilation and single-glazed windows, making them ill-equipped for a changing climate. As heatwaves become more frequent, the inability to manage temperature within these walls is increasingly viewed not just as a logistical challenge, but as a critical humanitarian and legal liability for European governments.