Europe’s overcrowded prisons are struggling to cope with prolonged heatwaves as soaring temperatures worsen conditions in ageing correctional facilities, fuelling humanitarian concerns and prompting renewed calls for urgent prison reforms across the region.
In France, where temperatures recently climbed above 37 degrees Celsius, inmates described suffocating conditions inside cramped, poorly ventilated cells, saying the relentless heat had become almost impossible to endure.
At Orléans-Saran prison, a 29years old inmate said he spent most of his day lying on his bed to conserve energy, placing wet towels over the bars of his cell window in a desperate attempt to cool the room. He said coping with the oppressive heat had become as much a psychological challenge as a physical one.
France’s chief prison inspector, Dominique Simonnot, said her office received an unprecedented surge in complaints from prisoners during the June heatwave, forcing the independent watchdog to recruit an additional staff member to manage the growing caseload.
Simonnot warned that overcrowded prisons, particularly older facilities without air conditioning or adequate ventilation, had become increasingly unsafe during periods of extreme heat, with several inmates often confined to cells designed for far fewer people.
Health concerns have also emerged. In Limoges, a prisoner reportedly collapsed after suffering from the heat and sustained a head injury during the early hours of July 8. While his lawyer attributed the incident to extreme temperatures inside the prison, a representative of the prison officers’ union said the inmate slipped while attempting to reach a window for fresh air. Authorities have not confirmed either account.
The prisoner’s lawyer has requested access to his medical records, warning that similar incidents are likely to recur unless prison conditions are significantly improved.
French prison authorities said they have introduced measures to reduce the impact of the heat, including increasing access to showers and drinking water, providing additional supplies of sunscreen and allowing inmates to purchase electric fans.
The French Justice Ministry acknowledged that chronic overcrowding has intensified the effects of heatwaves, stressing that reducing prison populations remains essential to addressing the problem over the long term.
Government figures show French prisons were operating at more than 141 percent of their intended capacity as of July. Similar overcrowding challenges persist elsewhere in Europe, with Italy’s prison occupancy rate approaching 140 percent and Belgium’s exceeding 120 percent.
In Italy, prison rights groups organised coordinated visits to dozens of correctional facilities to highlight what they described as degrading conditions during the summer heat. Campaigners criticised the lack of basic cooling equipment, saying many inmates continue to spend up to 20 hours each day confined inside overheated cells with inadequate ventilation.
The Italian government has allocated €800,000 to purchase fans and refrigerators for prisons and pledged to create an additional 10,000 prison spaces by the end of the year, although no new capacity has yet been delivered. Parliament has also approved legislation allowing certain prisoners with drug or alcohol addictions to serve their sentences at home while participating in rehabilitation programmes.
Belgium has also introduced measures to help inmates cope with soaring temperatures by providing additional drinking water and showers. However, governors of some of the country’s oldest prisons warned that the heat has heightened tensions inside overcrowded facilities, leading to more frequent fights among inmates and confrontations with prison staff.
Prison directors in Ghent and Merksplas said ageing buildings, poor ventilation and chronic overcrowding continue to undermine efforts to protect inmates during heatwaves. They warned that unless governments invest in modern prison infrastructure and reduce overcrowding, Europe’s correctional facilities will remain ill-equipped to cope with increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat.
Goodness Anunobi
Follow us on:
