Daniel Wolfram
The heatwave caused wildfires all over Europe that destroyed more than 600,000 hectares.
Western Europe experienced its worst heat on record this summer, according to a report from the EU Copernicus climate monitoring service. More than half of the continent suffered through extreme conditions that felt hotter than 38°C.
Temperatures from June through August averaged 2.5°C higher than in recent decades. Around 60% of Western Europe endured temperatures above 30°C on 17 separate days, beating previous highs set in 2003 and 2025.
The oppressive weather started unusually early in late May and dragged on into September. High heat killed tens of thousands of people, ruined crops, and forced power plants to shut down.
Widespread destruction
“The consequences extended far beyond temperature records, affecting water availability, energy systems, transport, ecosystems, and human health,” said Samantha Burgess, a climate scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, to The Guardian.
Wildfires tore across the landscape, burning 680,000 hectares by late September, based on data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Smoke from these blazes spewed 30% more toxic fine particles into the air than the 20-year average.
At the same time, rivers dropped to their lowest summer flows in over three decades. Record ocean temperatures further battered coastal ecosystems and supercharged dry conditions on land.
‘Unprecedented’ climate changes
A global El Niño pattern played a role worldwide, but experts say fossil fuel pollution directly drove Europe’s extreme weather.
“Frankly, after the summer we’ve just had, there’s little new to say,” said Xavier Rodó from ISGlobal. He noted that “this surge in the number and intensity of extreme weather events is clearly indicative of unprecedented changes in the European climate, as many records have been broken, not only locally, but also regionally and continentally.”
To protect communities, medical experts and scientists urge leaders to curb fossil fuel use, plant urban greenery, and install cooling systems in public facilities.
