heatwaves

Copernicus finds record share of Europe under heat stress

Just over half of Europe faced "very strong" heat stress at some point this summer. That is the largest share on record, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Friday, Oct. 2. Western Europe had its hottest…

Western Europe’s summer of 2026 was its hottest ever recorded, Copernicus confirms

Western Europe has endured its warmest summer on record, with the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirming that the June-to-August period in 2026 surpassed the long-standing record set in 2003. The average surface air temperature across the region reached 21.69°C, a…

August tied for hottest month ever recorded globally

The contiguous United States experienced its hottest meteorological summer in 132 years of record-keeping, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Wednesday. The average temperature across the Lower 48 states from June through August 2026 was 74.4 degrees Fahrenheit,…

EU crops maturing up to 20 days earlier as climate warms

Maize, rapeseed, and winter wheat matured and were harvested across Europe far earlier in 2026 than at the turn of the century, according to European Commission data, as repeated heatwaves accelerated plant growth cycles and dragged down yields across the…

Summer 2026 broke heat records from Maine to Europe

As meteorological fall began on September 1, climate summaries from weather agencies across the Northern Hemisphere confirmed a stark pattern: the summer of 2026 was among the hottest ever recorded in locations stretching from New England to Western Europe.

Europe’s summer heatwaves kill at least 35,000 people

Europe has recorded at least 35,000 excess deaths during a summer of back-to-back heatwaves, a toll that rivals the catastrophic 2003 season and is expected to climb further as August mortality data remains incomplete. Germany, France, and Spain account for…

European stocks hit records even as heat costs mount

Prolonged heatwaves and drought are exacting an unprecedented economic toll across Europe this summer, disrupting shipping, straining power systems, and devastating agriculture — yet financial markets have continued to climb to new highs.

Europe’s heatwaves cost businesses billions as insurance gap widens

Europe's intensifying heatwaves stripped an estimated €43 billion ($50 billion) from economic output last summer while triggering only about €500 million in insurance payouts, according to estimates published by Moody's, exposing a vast and growing protection gap that leaves businesses…

Europe’s heatwave knocks out nuclear reactors, sending power prices surging

Europe's fifth heatwave of the summer has forced France to take roughly 15% of its nuclear fleet offline, sending electricity prices sharply higher across the continent and exposing the growing vulnerability of thermal power generation to climate change.

Record French nuclear shortfall as heat, jellyfish hit reactors

A prolonged summer heatwave is straining power grids across southern and central Europe, forcing nuclear plant shutdowns, depleting hydroelectric reserves, and driving electricity prices sharply higher in Italy, Hungary, and France simultaneously.

Europe’s power grid faces dual threat from eclipse and heatwave

European grid operators are preparing to manage a dual challenge next week as the August 12 total solar eclipse — the first visible from mainland Europe since 1999 — coincides with heatwave-related shutdowns at thermal and nuclear power plants across…

Climate change made Spain wildfire weather 20 times more likely, study finds

Human-caused climate change made the extreme weather fueling wildfires in southwestern France at least twice as likely and made the conditions driving blazes in central Spain at least 20 times more likely, scientists said on Friday, July 31, in a…

Midea reports ‘explosive’ European AC demand as heatwaves persist

As Europe endures what forecasters have called a historic fourth heatwave of the summer and China experiences a surge in temperatures, demand for air conditioning units has reached unprecedented levels, straining manufacturers and energy systems alike.

Climate change to cause 430,000 extra deaths a year by 2050, study finds

Climate-driven temperature changes will cause approximately 430,000 additional deaths per year by 2050, with ten times more people dying in poor countries than in wealthy ones, according to the latest report from the Climate Impact Lab, a research group housed…

2026 El Niño forecast to be strongest on record by wide margin

A rapidly intensifying El Niño — forecast to be the strongest since modern record-keeping began — is reshaping expectations for global temperatures, with climate scientist Zeke Hausfather estimating a 35% chance that 2026 will set a new annual heat record…

June heatwave cost European grain farmers €2 billion, new analysis finds

A record-breaking June heatwave has slashed an estimated €2 billion from the value of European grain production, hammering farmers across the continent and raising concerns about global food supply chains, according to new analysis published this week by the Energy…

Europe’s heatwaves threaten to push food prices higher in 2027

Germany recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths so far this year, most of them during the late-June heatwave that paralyzed much of Europe for more than a week, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's national public health…

Over 2,700 died in England and Wales heatwaves, study finds

Western Europe is still counting the dead from an unprecedented June heatwave that sent temperatures above 40°C and overwhelmed health systems across the continent. Belgium alone recorded 1,747 excess deaths between June 18 and July 1 — its deadliest heatwave…

ECB warns heatwaves and droughts threaten EU growth

A working paper published by the European Central Bank warns that compounding heatwaves and droughts are increasingly threatening economic growth across the EU, with agriculture facing the steepest losses — annual growth could fall by between 1.9 and 7.6 percentage…