More than half of Europe faced intense summer heat stress, EU monitor says

A record 52% of Europe faced intense heat stress this summer, the EU’s climate monitor said Friday, as climate change fuelled widespread heatwaves and tens of thousands of excess deaths. Europe recorded its third warmest summer, while western Europe experienced its hottest, with several countries setting national temperature records overall.

A record 52 percent of Europe was exposed to intense heat stress during the exceptionally hot summer that seared the continent this year, the EU's climate monitor said Friday.

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.

Four of Europe's top 10 heatwaves occurred this past summer alone, Burgess said in a media briefing, with August 2003 still ranking as the most severe ever recorded.

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