Heatwave and wildfire risk: EU officials warn that “very extreme” wildfire danger is spreading across Europe as longer, hotter heatwaves—now amplified by warming—push emergency alerts in places like the UK. Drought and energy strain: Water levels are collapsing across major rivers, with the Danube hitting record lows and forcing nuclear plants and hydropower to cut output, while gas storage in the EU sinks to record lows ahead of winter. Power prices spike: Extreme heat drives day-ahead electricity prices up more than 20% as French nuclear output and German wind generation fall, leaving markets to lean on costly gas. Danube crisis in focus: Romania declares a 30-day energy alert after drought-driven low flows threaten cooling at Cernavodă, while emergency river works only buy days. Central Europe rail and industry: Czech freight operator ČD Cargo reaches Denmark for the first time with a coke train using multi-system Vectron certification, showing EU rail liberalisation in practice. Health and science: The EU will study an experimental Lyme vaccine after EMA acceptance, targeting a disease with rising tick-season risk. Culture and travel: Eurostar plans a new winter 2026 direct London–Antwerp service, cutting travel time without changing trains. Games and tech: Brno’s Gamebaze heads to Gamescom with incubated studios, underlining Central Europe’s growing game-development scene.