© Adobe Stock/Napole June 2026 was the hottest June on record in Western Europe and the second warmest June in the world. Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record Climate and Environment
June 2026 was the hottest June on record in Western Europe and the second warmest June in the world. This was reported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with reference to data from the European Climate Change Service Copernicus.
According to scientists, record temperatures were associated not only with a heat wave on land, but also with unprecedented heating of the ocean surface. Hot weather continues into July, fueling large wildfires in France and the Iberian Peninsula.
Europe is warming faster than other regions
The average temperature in Western Europe in June was 20.74 degrees Celsius – 3.05 degrees above the climate norm for 1991–2020. This is a new record for June, surpassing the high set just a year ago.
“In a changing climate, these types of heat waves are to be expected,” said John Kennedy, head of the WMO’s climate information division.
Europe has warmed by about two degrees over the past 50 years, he said. “This is the fastest-warming continent, and extreme temperatures are becoming increasingly common,” he noted.New temperature records were recorded in several European countries at once. In Germany, the temperature reached 41.7 degrees, and historical highs were updated for three days in a row. In France, June 24 was the hottest day on record: the average temperature across the country was 30 degrees, and in some areas the air warmed up to 43.8 degrees. observations.
Records were also set in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland.
Drought, fires and overheating sea
The June heat wave was accompanied by large-scale marine heat waves in the western Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of Europe. The surface temperature of the world’s oceans also reached a record level for June.
At the same time, drought intensified in many areas of Europe. Combined with extreme heat, this has led to an increase in wildfires, especially in Spain, Portugal and southern France, and has also increased the risk of further drought conditions in other regions of the continent. According to Copernicus, June 2026 became the second warmest June on the planet after June 2024. The global average temperature was 16.54 degrees Celsius, 0.56 degrees above normal.
The WMO reminds us that extreme heat causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year. The so-called “tropical nights” are especially dangerous, when the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees. In such conditions, the body does not have time to recover from the heat of the day, which significantly increases the burden on the cardiovascular system and increases the risk for older people, children, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.
The World Meteorological Organization and the World Health Organization are calling on countries to expand early warning systems and population protection plans. Scientists estimate that extreme heat waves will become more frequent, longer, and more intense due to climate change.