According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), June 2026 was the hottest June on record for Western Europe and the second-warmest globally.
The heatwave that hit much of Europe during the second half of June came only a few weeks after a particularly intense heatwave in May, followed by another in early July. The succession of heatwaves underscores the growing challenge posed by increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves across Europe and the globe.
Severe health impact
The June heatwave broke monthly and all-time temperature records across several European countries and contributed to severe health impacts, including heat-related deaths.
In Belgium alone, 1,747 excess deaths were recorded between June 18 and July 1, according to Sciensano. This represents an excess mortality of 47.8 percent. It is primarily the accumulation of warm days that has resulted in the exceptionally high figure.
The June heatwave occurred against a backdrop of increasingly dry soils across western and central Europe, further exacerbating drought conditions that had begun to develop during May’s heatwave.
Facts & figures
June 2026 was the second-warmest globally, with an average surface air temperature of 16.54°C, 0.56°C above the 1991-2020 average. June 2026 was 1.39°C above the estimated pre-industrial average for 1850-1900.
The average sea surface temperature in June was the highest on record for the month at 20.86°C.
The average temperature over European land in June 2026 was the second-highest on record for the month, at 19.14°C, 1.78°C above the 1991-2020 June average.
Western Europe, the region most affected by the heatwave, experienced its warmest June on record, with an average temperature of 20.74°C, 3.05°C above the 1991-2020 June average.
Drier-than-average
In June 2026, much of western continental Europe, including Italy, large parts of central and eastern Europe, and southern UK, experienced drier-than-average conditions associated with persistent high pressure and heatwaves.
Conversely, Iceland, Ireland, much of the UK, the North Sea coast, Fennoscandia, the Baltic States, Greece, and a large region north of the Caspian Sea were wetter than average. In some areas, heavy precipitation led to localized flooding and associated impacts.
‘Climate is changing’
Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF: “June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing. Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record, and the global ocean continued to warm.
Together, these records reflect a climate system continuing to accumulate heat. The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems, and infrastructure across Europe and beyond.”
