Western Europe Records Hottest June-July Period

Western Europe has recorded its hottest June-July period on record this summer, according to the European Union's climate change monitor. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported that the region’s average temperature over the two-month period was 21.62°C (70.9°F), which is 2.79°C (5.01°F) above average and higher than the previous record set in 2022.

The intense heat has been fueled by persistent high-pressure systems that have trapped heat over the region, amplifying widespread drought conditions. As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily. This phenomenon is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another.

The extreme temperatures and prolonged drought have led to devastating wildfires across Western Europe. In France, a megafire burned nearly 42,000 hectares (103,785 acres) in southwestern France’s Gironde department in late July, forcing the evacuation of more than 220,000 people. Spain also experienced its largest wildfire in recent history, with almost 44,000 hectares (108,725 acres) scorched in Avila province near Madrid.

The heatwave has had significant impacts on water supplies and irrigation. Several rivers, including the Seine, Rhine, and Danube, experienced exceptionally low water levels. This led Hungary and Slovenia to operate their only nuclear power plants at reduced capacity due to a lack of cooling water. France and Spain also registered record levels of drought, further exacerbating the wildfire risks.

The highest sea surface temperatures on record outside the polar regions were recorded in July, with an average temperature of 20.96°C (69.7°F), slightly higher than the previous record of 20.89°C (69.6°F) set in 2023. This increase in sea surface temperatures has global implications and is partially fueled by developing El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

The U.K. and France are bracing for another heat wave, adding to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures soaring across Europe since May. National weather agency Météo-France warns about temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F) from Tuesday onward in southeastern France. In the U.K., an amber heat health alert for most of England will be in place beginning Tuesday as temperatures are forecast to climb to 36°C (96.8°F) later this week.

Across Europe, the extreme heat began in May and has contributed to major wildfires, prolonged drought, and new national temperature records, as well as thousands of projected heat-related deaths. Globally, so far this is the third-hottest year on record behind 2024 and 2025.

In France alone, heat wave alerts were issued for the first time on record in May, when more than half the country recorded new monthly temperature highs. The heat intensified in June, a period during which at least 5,700 more deaths than usual were recorded, according to France's public health agency. Météo-France said June 23 was the hottest day ever recorded in the country with temperatures climbing as high as 44.3°C (111.7°F) in the southwest.

The heat alert warns that significant impacts on health services, including a rise in deaths among older and vulnerable people, are likely. Two record-breaking heat waves in May and June led to more than 2,800 excess deaths linked to extreme temperatures. An 18-year-old died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands beach in southern England on Sunday.

In Spain, firefighters were battling multiple blazes, including one that broke out on Friday in Tírig, Valencia, that has burned more than 3 square miles (8 square kilometers) and has involved more than 300 personnel and 21 aircraft to combat it. A separate wildfire in the southern Huelva region had affected a similar sized area since it broke out on Thursday.