Western Europe has experienced its hottest June weather in historyAccording to monitoring by the European Union's climate agency Copernicus, the region has been plagued by "extreme" temperatures during repeated heat waves. This The trend is not isolated; globally, this June was the third warmest June on record, continuing a streak of record-breaking heatwaves in recent years. The previous warmest June was in 2024 and the second warmest was in 2023, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.

Europe is warming several times faster than the global average. Millions of people were exposed to severe heat stress across parts of the continent as daily average temperatures in western Europe rose to levels rarely, and never before, seen so early in the summer. Several countries recorded surface temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Spain and Portugal reaching 46°C. Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and much of the Balkans recorded some of the highest “feels like temperatures”, which take into account the effects of humidity on the human body. North of Lisbon, maximum feel-good temperatures reached 48°C, around 7°C above average and associated with “extreme heat stress”.

The impact of heat waves in Europe was "exceptional", intensified record sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean. Sea temperatures here reached a record high of 27°C on June 30, with some areas up to 5°C above average. The higher water temperatures reduced night-time air cooling along the coast, contributed to higher humidity and harmed marine life. Two heat waves – from June 17 to 22 and again from June 30 to July 2 – were associated with so-called “heat domes” that trapped warm air over affected regions, prolonging the muggy weather and worsening pollution and wildfire conditions.

Global warming, which is largely driven by by burning fossil fuels, is not just about rising temperatures, but also about the secondary effects of extra heat on the atmosphere and seas. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and warmer oceans mean more evaporation, leading to more intense downpours and storms. June was a catalogue of extreme weather events around the world. In addition to the heatwaves that hit the US and China, for example (where 102 weather stations recorded the hottest June day on record, with temperatures above 40°C), other disasters were also spreading across the globe. Devastating fires raged in Canada and southern Europe, while deadly floods hit areas of South Africa, China and Pakistan. Copernicus said parts of western Europe were drier than average, with particularly dry conditions recorded in North America, eastern and southern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and parts of central and eastern Asia and southern South America. Conversely, parts of the world that experienced wetter than average conditions included the southern US, parts of China and southern Brazil.

Current global warming is reaching 1.3°C above pre-industrial temperaturesThe Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5°C, above which significant and lasting climate and environmental changes become more likely. But many scientists now say it will be nearly impossible to stay below that level, with exceedance expected around 2030 or soonerThis could present the world with an unprecedented challenge to try to turn warming back. Spring