Europe’s hottest summer triggers record heat stress
Around 80% of the continent experienced 'strong' heat stress, or feels-like temperatures above 32C, during an exceptionally hot summer.
Europe experienced an unprecedented heatwave summer in 2026, driven by climate change, according to the EU's climate monitoring agency, Copernicus. A staggering 52% of the continent endured intense heat stress, defined as temperatures feeling hotter than 38°C. Samantha Burgess, climate lead at ECMWF, noted that this was Europe's third warmest summer on record and the hottest for western Europe.
Four of the top ten heatwaves occurred during this single summer. The heatwave's severity was compounded by prolonged drought conditions, with almost half of Europe affected by drought by the end of August. The combination of extreme heat and dryness led to record low river flows, disrupting transportation, irrigation, nuclear cooling, and hydropower.
This summer exemplified how heat stress is increasingly becoming widespread and persistent, posing a significant threat to public health and the environment.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
