Western Europe endured its hottest June on record, EU scientists confirmed on Thursday, after a late-month heatwave shattered temperature records, disrupted electricity supplies and forced schools to close.
According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), June 2026 was also the world's second-warmest June ever recorded. Global sea surface temperatures reached their highest level for the month since observations began.
Data from C3S showed Western Europe recorded an average temperature of 20.74°C (69.3°F) in June, more than 3°C above the 1991–2020 average. The agency defines Western Europe as stretching from Spain and the United Kingdom east to Italy, Germany and parts of Austria.
The region has now experienced three major heatwaves in as many months, with Spain and Portugal facing another spell of extreme heat this week.
"June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing," said Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. "The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, persistently warm oceans, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure across Europe and beyond."
National authorities reported more than 4,700 excess deaths across France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands during the June heatwave, with the overall toll expected to be higher once figures from other countries are compiled. The prolonged heat also fuelled wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula and France while worsening drought conditions.
Scientists say rising greenhouse gas emissions primarily from burning coal, oil and natural gas have raised the planet's average temperature to around 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels, creating conditions that allow heatwaves to become more frequent and more severe.
"The relationship between heatwaves and global warming is about as straightforward as it gets," said Joeri Rogelj, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. "On a hotter planet, there will be more heatwaves, and they will become more intense."
C3S said record June sea surface temperatures were influenced not only by long-term climate change but also by the development of a strong El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean.
However, scientists found that El Niño was not responsible for Europe's June heatwave, with climate change identified as the primary factor behind the severity of the extreme temperatures.
Copernicus' temperature records date back to 1940 and are cross-checked against global datasets extending to 1850.
