Western and central Europe experienced an intense late-June heatwave that shattered monthly and all-time temperature records in several countries, including Germany and the Czech Republic. The event followed an unusually severe heatwave<\/a> in May and was followed with another beginning in early July<\/a>, illustrating an increasingly persistent pattern of extreme summer heat.<\/p>\n The rapid succession of major heatwaves suggests that extreme heat is no longer an isolated event but an increasingly prolonged feature of European summers.<\/p>\n Copernicus – Copernicus climate data. <\/p>\n The impacts extended beyond high temperatures with dry conditions across much of Europe, particularly the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, and parts of eastern Europe, increased wildfire activity, reduced river flows, and intensified drought risk, which undermines food production.<\/p>\n Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, chair of the EU’s independent climate advisory body, the European scientific advisory board on climate change, said that achieving the EU’s 2040 and 2050 climate targets in a cost\u2011effective manner requires “meaningful emission reductions across the entire economy”.<\/p>\n “While agriculture has made progress, the scale and pace of reductions are not yet sufficient. The sector will need to step up action in the years ahead \u2013 to help achieve climate neutrality and to protect farmers’ livelihoods, support rural communities, and secure Europe’s food supply as the climate continues to change,” Edenhofer said after the launch of a report in March.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o<\/p>\n Meanwhile, marine heatwaves spread across the western Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, threatening marine ecosystems. Globally, June 2026 recorded the highest June sea surface temperatures for the world’s ice-free oceans, narrowly exceeding the previous record set in 2024, according to EU data.<\/p>\n Scientists attributed this partly to strengthening El Ni\u00f1o conditions \u2013 climate pattern where the surface waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer than usual \u2013 although EU climate data argues that long-term human-driven climate change remains the dominant factor behind rising global temperatures.<\/p>\n![\"Copernicus\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/euronews_uk_articles_973\/80bec2d524992e4f4f069ea7ed522dcd.jpeg\"\/)
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