June and July Were the Hottest on Record in Western Europe

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Western Europe experienced its hottest June and July on record, according to the EU climate monitoring service Copernicus. The average temperature across the region, which includes parts of Austria in the Copernicus classification, reached 21.62°C over the two-month period.
That figure was 2.79°C above the long-term June average for 1991–2020. The data include nighttime temperatures, meaning the exceptionally warm conditions persisted around the clock. Copernicus also highlighted a pronounced temperature gradient across Europe: while western parts of the continent experienced extreme heat, temperatures were considerably lower in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

For Europe as a whole, July had an average temperature of 20.49°C, making it the continent’s 11th-warmest July on record. Globally, however, July ranked joint second-warmest with July 2024, at approximately 16.90°C. The record remains July 2023, when the global average reached 16.95°C. Last month’s global temperature was about 1.47°C above the pre-industrial July level.

Four Heatwaves Since May
Copernicus described the prolonged heat in Western Europe as particularly unusual. The region has experienced four heatwaves since May, an exceptionally high number in the historical record, which extends back to 1950 and, in some cases, even earlier.
Extreme heat was accompanied by persistent drought across large parts of Europe. July was drier than average in many areas, including parts of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and the United Kingdom.

Soil moisture in Western Europe was significantly lower than during the previous major drought year of 2022.

“When soils dry out, they lose their ability to naturally provide cooling, allowing heat to build up more easily,” said Samantha Burgess, Copernicus’ Strategic Lead for Climate. She described the situation as a clear example of how climate change can intensify temperature extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another.

Rivers at Exceptionally Low Levels
The prolonged dry conditions also affected Europe’s rivers. Water levels in many of the affected regions were well below their long-term averages, with exceptionally low levels recorded locally. The Seine, Rhine and Danube were among the rivers particularly affected.
Record Ocean Temperatures
The heat was not confined to land. Global sea-surface temperatures reached a record high for July, with an average of 20.96°C outside the polar regions. The previous July record, 20.89°C, was set in 2023.
Copernicus pointed to unusually warm waters in the equatorial Pacific associated with the developing El Niño climate pattern, which is expected to strengthen in the coming months.

Along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, sea temperatures also reached record levels, contributing to intense marine heatwaves.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service regularly publishes data on global temperatures, sea ice and precipitation. Its analyses combine billions of observations from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world with computer-generated climate models.

The latest figures underline the growing intensity of compound heat and drought events in Europe, as well as the continuing rise in temperatures both on land and in the world’s oceans.