Western Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2026, with surface air temperatures from June to August 2.5C above the recent decadal average. An update from the EU’s Copernicus climate monitoring service, released on Friday, also found that over half of the continent was affected by “very strong” heat stress, with temperatures feeling hotter than 38C.
Across the entire continent, the summer of 2026 was Europe’s third hottest on record, despite milder heat in areas outside western Europe. The report noted that at least 60% of western Europe endured temperatures above 30C on 17 days this summer, compared to 11 days in 2003 and seven days in 2025.
The intense heat contributed to a record 13 days of “very strong” heat stress across western Europe. Recurring heatwaves, which the report attributes to climate breakdown, reportedly led to tens of thousands of deaths, ruined harvests, and power plant shutdowns across Europe.
European sea surface temperatures also broke records this summer, and the continent's rivers experienced their lowest summer flows in over 30 years. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System indicated that the severity of fire weather conditions in 2026 was the worst ever recorded by scientists, with 680,000 hectares burned by the end of September.