Europe Records Hottest May Days as UN Urges Faster Shift From Fossil Fuels

Britain and France each recorded their hottest May day this week as a heat dome pushed temperatures well above seasonal norms across western and northern Europe. London reached 16°C above its long-term average and Paris 14°C above average. Oslo climbed to 18°C, three degrees higher than typical late-May readings.

Weather services described the pattern as highly anomalous and powerful. Forecasters said the system would keep readings stubbornly above 30°C through Thursday. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the episode was a brutal reminder of the spiraling impacts of the climate crisis.

"This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it," said Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London.

Stiell identified the burning of coal, oil and gas as the main culprit, noting that fossil fuels account for roughly 68 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. He added that the current heatwave coincides with higher costs from dependence on imported fossil fuels amid conflict in the Middle East.

"The solutions are just as clear: a faster shift to clean power, which is now cheaper than fossil fuels," Stiell said.

Last year wind and solar supplied 30 percent of EU electricity, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time, according to Ember. SolarPower Europe calculated that solar generation alone saved the bloc €3 billion in March by reducing gas imports. Italy announced last month it would keep coal plants operating until 2038, 13 years past an earlier deadline.

The Netherlands continues to rely heavily on gas while its large-scale wind rollout remains slow. Stiell urged governments to accelerate the transition and to invest in resilience against heat, floods and other climate impacts.