Western Europe hit hottest June-July on record, EU monitor says

Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced Monday, as the continent battles devastating wildfires and braces for yet another heatwave amid a summer of escalating climate extremes.

The combined average temperature for the two-month period reached 21.62 degrees Celsius — 2.79 degrees above the 1991-2020 average — surpassing the previous record set in 2022, according to Copernicus. July was also the third consecutive month of exceptional heat in western Europe and saw the highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded for the month across the world's non-polar oceans, partly fueled by a developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific.phys+2

Heat, Drought and Fire

The record temperatures have combined with severe drought to create what scientists describe as a self-reinforcing cycle of extremes. Surface soil moisture levels across western Europe in July were "significantly lower" than during the 2022 drought, with France, Spain, parts of Germany and the United Kingdom recording exceptionally low rainfall.reuters+1

"As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. "This is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another."aa+1

River flows on the Seine, Rhine and Danube have fallen well below average, forcing Hungary and Romania to temporarily shut down nuclear reactors and constraining cargo traffic and energy production. Wildfires have burned more than 1.23 million acres across southern Europe, mainly in Spain, France and Italy, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, according to an August 6 EU report.cnn+1

Economic Fallout

The crisis is now threatening to erase much of Europe's projected economic growth. Dutch bank Triodos estimated in a report published Saturday that heat-related disruption could shave around 1% off EU GDP — roughly €180 billion — driven primarily by weaker labor productivity. France is expected to be hardest hit, with GDP reduced by an estimated 1.4 percentage points, potentially tipping the country into an annual contraction of 0.6%.english.aawsat+2

"This summer shows that climate change is not a distant economic risk," said Hans Stegeman, chief economist at Triodos. "The extreme heat we all experience today shows concretely how climate change will affect lives, workers and prosperity across Europe."sustainabilityonline

Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said scientists expect a new record for global average temperatures later this year or early 2027, as the El Niño — which he described as "possibly unprecedented in terms of amplitude" — continues to strengthen.phys