PARIS — Intense summer heatwaves across Europe have exposed deepening problems of overcrowding and ageing prison infrastructure, with inmates, prison officials, medical professionals and rights advocates warning that soaring temperatures are amplifying health risks and tensions in correctional facilities already operating beyond capacity.
Reuters interviews with more than 40 people in France, Italy and Belgium found that many prisons struggled to keep detainees safe during prolonged periods of extreme heat, particularly where cramped cells, poor ventilation and ageing buildings limited options for cooling. Officials and campaigners said temporary measures offered only partial relief while longstanding structural problems remained unresolved.
France's chief prison inspector, Dominique Simonnot, said her office received a surge of complaints from detainees during a severe heatwave in June, prompting the independent watchdog to add staff to handle the increased workload. The French justice ministry said prisons expanded access to drinking water and showers and supplied additional sun cream, while allowing inmates to purchase fans where possible.
French justice ministry spokesperson Sacha Straub-Kahn said that while immediate measures were necessary, reducing prison overcrowding remained essential to easing the impact of future heatwaves. "In the long and medium term we need to simply try and fight against prison overcrowding," he said, adding that overcrowding intensified the effects of extreme temperatures.
Official figures showed French prisons were operating at an average occupancy rate of 141.3% as of July 1. Prison rights group Antigone reported Italy's occupancy rate at 139.7% in late July, while Belgium's Central Prison Monitoring Council reported occupancy of about 121% in August.
Medical experts and prison officials said the heat posed heightened risks because many detainees have underlying mental health conditions or substance-use disorders that can make them more vulnerable to high temperatures. Belgian prison authorities relaxed some security procedures to improve airflow in certain facilities, while Italy introduced legislation allowing some prisoners with addiction-related convictions to serve sentences at home and pledged to expand prison capacity.
The Council of Europe reported earlier this year that prison overcrowding remains a persistent challenge across the continent. Its latest penal statistics showed nine prison systems experiencing severe overcrowding, up from six a year earlier, and warned that rising numbers of older prisoners could create additional operational and healthcare pressures in the years ahead.
Authorities in the affected countries said emergency measures would remain in place during periods of extreme heat, while officials and prison monitoring bodies continued to press for longer-term reforms to address overcrowding and ageing prison infrastructure.
