Western Europe hit by multiple heatwaves; global seas record hottest July

European land and seas reached unusually high temperatures this summer, according to data released on 10 August 2026 by the Copernicus Climate Change Service in Bonn. Western Europe experienced a string of extreme heat events and the global oceans registered their highest July surface temperature on record.

Four heatwaves since May, oceans at record highs

Copernicus reports that June and July were warmer in western Europe than in any previous years for those months; the regional June average reached 21.62 °C, which is 2.79 °C above the 1991–2020 long‑term June mean. Since the end of spring, the region has registered four separate heatwaves — an unusually large number for western Europe.

Across all of Europe, July averaged 20.49 °C, making it the eleventh‑warmest July on record for the continent. Globally, July tied with 2024 as the second‑warmest July on record at about 16.90 °C, behind the July 2023 record of 16.95 °C. On a global scale, last month was 1.47 °C warmer than pre‑industrial July averages.

Copernicus also highlights a marked east–west contrast: while western Europe saw exceptional heat, parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia were noticeably cooler. Within Germany, southwestern areas warmed much more than the northeast. Prolonged dry conditions affected large areas — notably the Iberian Peninsula, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and the United Kingdom — and surface soil moisture in western Europe fell well below levels seen even in the dry July of 2022.

"When soils dry out, they lose their natural cooling capacity, so heat accumulates even more easily," says Samanta Bardžes, strategic director for climate at Copernicus.

River levels dropped sharply in many drought‑hit areas, with the Seine, the Rhine and the Danube especially affected; the Rhine in particular reached record low flows. At sea, the July average sea‑surface temperature outside polar regions reached 20.96 °C, exceeding the previous July record of 20.89 °C set in 2023. Coastal waters along the Atlantic and the western Mediterranean saw marine heatwaves. Copernicus notes elevated temperatures in the equatorial Pacific tied to the onset of El Niño, which is expected to strengthen in the coming months.

The Copernicus findings are based on computer analyses that integrate billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and meteorological stations worldwide, and they form part of the service’s routine monitoring of land temperatures, sea ice and precipitation.

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