Europe's hottest summer 'caused record heat stress'
A report from the EU's climate monitor indicates that over half of Europe experienced intense heat stress during the summer of 2026. The data highlights a trend of increasingly frequent and geographically widespread heatwaves driven by climate change.
Why it matters
Rising heat stress levels pose significant risks to public health, infrastructure, and economic stability across the European continent.
A record 52% of Europe was exposed to intense heat stress during the exceptionally hot summer that seared the continent this year, the EU's climate monitor has said.
Fuelled by climate change, the world's fastest-warming continent endured a relentless series of heatwaves that began unusually early in the spring, shattering temperature records and causing tens of thousands of excess deaths.
"One of the things that stands out for 2026 is that the heat was not only remarkable for its intensity, but also for its geographical extent," said Samantha Burgess, climate lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which operates Copernicus.
It was the continent's third warmest summer on record and the hottest for western Europe, with several countries reporting all-time temperature highs.
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