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Western Europe experienced its hottest combined June and July on record this year, highlighting the growing intensity of heat extremes and drought linked to climate change, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
C3S said Monday that the region’s average temperature during the two-month period reached 21.62 degrees Celsius, which was 2.79C above the average and surpassed the previous record set in 2022.
The agency attributed the record to the “exceptional persistence of heat” across Western Europe during the summer.
July marked the third consecutive month of exceptional heat in the region, C3S said. Persistent high-pressure systems trapped hot air over Western Europe, while extremely dry conditions intensified the impact of the heat.
Soil moisture levels were also significantly lower than they were in July 2022, when Western Europe experienced a severe drought.
Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said the combination of heat and drought was creating a reinforcing cycle.
As soils lose moisture, they become less capable of providing natural cooling, allowing temperatures to rise further. According to Burgess, this demonstrates how climate change is intensifying extreme heat while simultaneously increasing drought conditions.
The consequences have extended well beyond uncomfortable temperatures. Record heat and drought have disrupted power generation, shipping and public health systems across Europe, while an intense wildfire season is threatening to become the continent’s worst on record.
Economists and academics estimate that the combined economic damage from extreme heat, drought and wildfires this summer could already amount to hundreds of billions of euros.
The effects are also being felt through public finances, inflation, tourism and infrastructure. Persistent extreme weather is forcing European governments to reconsider how electricity is generated and distributed, how goods are transported and how cities and communities prepare for increasingly severe climate events.
Europe is warming faster than any other continent, according to climate scientists, making it particularly vulnerable to more frequent and intense heatwaves.
The economic impact is expected to increase as extreme weather events become more frequent. Heat can reduce labour productivity, damage crops, increase cooling demand and put additional pressure on healthcare systems, while drought can disrupt agriculture, river transport and electricity production.
“What makes 2026 particularly worrying from an economic perspective is that there are multiple episodes of extreme events,” University of Mannheim economist Sehrish Usman said.
The latest temperature record adds to a growing body of evidence that extreme heat is no longer simply a future climate concern for Europe. Instead, its effects are increasingly being felt across the region’s economy, public services and everyday life