Heat and drought: June and July were as warm as ever in Western Europe

In June and July, it was as hot in Western Europe as it had never been before in the two summer months. The average temperature in the region, which also includes Germany, was 21.62 degrees during this period, as the climate change service of the EU's Copernicus program announced in Bonn. This was 2.79 degrees above the long-term June average from 1991 to 2020.

However, Copernicus points to a pronounced temperature gradient from Western to Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, where it was significantly cooler. Even for Germany, the data shows that the southwest was significantly warmer than the northeast. For Europe as a whole, the past month was only the eleventh warmest July, with an average temperature of 20.49 degrees.

Globally, it was - together with 2024 - the second warmest, with about 16.90 degrees. The record holder remains July 2023 with 16.95 degrees, according to previous information. The past month was globally 1.47 degrees above the pre-industrial July level.

For Western Europe, Copernicus also highlights the extremely long-lasting heat since late spring. There have been four heatwaves since May - which is exceptionally high for the region. The data used by Copernicus dates back to 1950, and some earlier data is also available.

Heat and drought reinforce each other

The extreme drought continued in many European regions. As in June and partly in May, it was also drier than average in many regions in July. This mainly affected parts of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Great Britain. The moisture content of the soil surface was significantly lower in Western Europe in July than in the last drought July 2022.

"If soils dry out, they lose their ability to cool naturally, so that the heat can build up even more easily," says Samantha Burgess, strategic leader for climate at Copernicus. "This is a clear example of how climate change amplifies heat extremes: heat and drought increasingly reinforce each other."

Record level also in the sea

The water level of the rivers was significantly below the long-term average in large parts of the dry regions and even reached exceptionally low values locally. The Seine, Rhine, and Danube were particularly affected. The world's oceans also heated up to record levels. The sea surface temperature was the highest ever recorded in July, according to the information provided.

The average temperature was 20.96 degrees. The previous high of 20.89 degrees dated back to July 2023. The measurements refer to the seas outside the polar regions.

Copernicus points to the currently high temperatures in the equatorial Pacific due to the beginning of the climate phenomenon El Niño, which is likely to intensify in the coming months. Along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, the water temperatures reached record values, which were accompanied by strong marine heatwaves.

The EU's climate change service Copernicus regularly publishes data on, for example, the temperature at the Earth's surface, sea ice cover, and precipitation. The findings are based on computer-generated analyses that incorporate billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft, and weather stations around the world.