Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
An intense heatwave is scorching Europe right now, with temperatures in some areas rising above 40°C. But is it so hot that traffic signs are melting across the continent? A video featuring two clips claims to show just that!
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “Europe is literally melting. With heat waves already approaching 40 and 45°C, the traffic lights in Italy and Germany couldn’t withstand the pressure and have started to melt. If you thought the summer in your city was tough, check this out. How’s the weather where you live?”
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This is, of course, not what happened. So, let’s examine both clips, one at a time.
THE FIRST VIDEO
Reverse-searching keyframes from the first clip led us to a Facebook post and a news report. They both stated that the melted-looking traffic light was from Verona, Italy.
Subsequently, we geolocated the place using Street View on Google Maps, which confirmed that the video is from Lugagnano, Verona, Italy.
We could not find any credible news reports about a traffic light melting in Verona because of the heatwave. However, we came across a report by Italian news outlet Il Baco da Seta published on June 23. According to it, a car caught fire the same evening while it was halted at the main traffic light in Lugagnano, Italy.
The report mentioned the flame was quickly extinguished by firefighters, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was not established at the time the news outlet published the report.
The news outlet also published the video on its Facebook account on June 23, which shows fire at the same location as seen in the viral video.
This is likely what caused the traffic light to partially melt.
THE SECOND VIDEO
The second clip features a white building. A reverse image search led us to a street in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, near the Spree River.
We also confirmed this by locating the building on Street View of Google Maps. This confirmed that the second video was from Berlin, Germany.
The fact-checking unit of the German publication Deutsche Presse-Agentur debunked the viral claim in a report published on June 29.
According to it, the damage to the traffic light at an intersection in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg occurred due to a fire at a nearby club in June 2025. InfraSignal, the company responsible for Berlin’s traffic lights, confirmed to the news outlet that the traffic light was damaged by fire in 2025.
Thus, we concluded that neither clip showed the heatwave in Europe melting traffic lights.
THE HEATWAVE
According to the World Health Organisation, over 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 due to the record-breaking heatwave on the continent. The extreme weather has also reportedly damaged highways, delayed trains, strained power grids, and overwhelmed hospitals. We also found reports about the temperature rise causing roads to melt and tram tracks to buckle.
So, while there is a deadly heatwave in Europe, the claim that this is causing traffic lights to melt is misleading.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
