Summer 2026 in Europe: Record Temperatures and Drought

The European Union's (EU) Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) published its assessment for the summer of 2026.

Accordingly, the June-August period was the third hottest summer on record across Europe and the hottest summer in Western Europe.

Summer-like weather conditions began unusually early in some parts of the continent.

The 2026 summer period in Europe will be defined by extreme heat waves and dry conditions, with the first major heat wave affecting a large part of Western Europe in late May and exceptionally hot weather conditions continuing throughout the summer.

The proportion of land areas exposed to very strong heat stress in Europe this summer reached 52 percent, breaking a record.

Very strong heat stress, which refers to an increase in felt temperature to 38 degrees or above, increased serious health risks, including heat stroke.

While record high surface air temperatures were observed especially in Western Europe, record and near-record sea surface temperatures were recorded in European seas.

The average summer temperature in Western Europe was measured as 21.7 degrees, 2.5 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. Thus, the record set in 2003 was surpassed.

The average number of days with strong heat stress in the region increased to 41, and the number of days with very strong heat stress increased to 13, breaking a record.

Due to long-term drought, European rivers have seen their lowest summer flows since records began in 1992.

Record or near-record low flows were recorded in the Rhine, Danube, Po, Loire, Rhone and Seine rivers in July and August.

While this situation disrupted freight transportation, it increased the pressure on irrigation, cooling of nuclear reactors, hydroelectric production and fresh water supply.

As of September 2, the area damaged by fires in the EU reached approximately twice the average for the same date of the 2006-2025 period.