In summer, 52% of Europe experienced very severe heat stress — France 24

In the summer of 2026, 52% of Europe experienced very severe heat stress, a record figure for the continent. This was reported by France 24, citing the EU's Copernicus climate monitoring service.

The third-warmest summer

According to Copernicus, the summer of 2026 was the third-warmest in Europe on record and the hottest for Western Europe. Several countries recorded absolute national temperature records. Samantha Burgess, head of the climate department at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, noted that the heat stood out not only for its intensity but also for the scale of the area affected.

According to her, four of the ten most intense heatwaves in Europe occurred last summer. The strongest heatwave in the monitoring data remains the one that occurred in August 2003.

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Drought and river flow

Copernicus defines very severe heat stress as conditions in which the apparent temperature exceeds 38°C. Around 80% of Europe also experienced severe heat stress, with an apparent temperature above 32°C. These conditions were observed for a record 41 days before the end of the season.

The heat was accompanied by drought conditions. River flow in Europe was at its lowest since observations began in 1992, disrupting freight transport and increasing pressure on irrigation, nuclear reactor cooling and hydropower. By the end of August, drought covered almost half of Europe.