A record 52 percent of Europe was exposed to intense heat stress during the exceptionally hot summer that seared the continent this year, the EU’s climate monitor said on Oct. 2.
Fueled by climate change, the world’s fastest-warming continent endured a relentless series of heatwaves that began unusually early in the spring, shattering temperature records and causing tens of thousands of excess deaths.
“One of the things that stands out for 2026 is that the heat was not only remarkable for its intensity, but also for its geographical extent,” said Samantha Burgess, climate lead at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which operates Copernicus.
It was the continent’s third warmest summer on record and the hottest for western Europe, with several countries reporting all-time temperature highs.
Four of Europe’s top 10 heat waves occurred this past summer alone, Burgess said in a media briefing, with August 2003 still ranking as the most severe ever recorded.
This left 52 percent of Europe exposed to “very strong” heat stress, when temperatures feel hotter than 38 degrees Celsius, according to Copernicus.
Around 80 percent of the continent experienced “strong” heat stress, or feels-like temperatures of more than 32 degrees, which occurred on a record 41 days by the end of the season.
“Summer 2026 demonstrated how heat stress is becoming both more widespread and more persistent,” Burgess said, noting that it was the leading cause of weather-related mortality globally.
