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Europe Records Hottest June on Record with 1,300 Heat-Related Deaths
Many European countries logged their hottest June on record during heatwaves that killed more than 1,300 people. A World Weather Attribution study linked the extreme temperatures directly to climate change.
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Many countries across Europe experienced the hottest June on record as heatwaves swept the region. The World Health Organisation reported nearly 1,300 excess deaths by June 21, including 1,000 in France alone. A World Weather Attribution study found that June's extreme heat across Western Europe would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago.
The same temperatures would have been roughly 3.5°C cooler in 1976 and around 2°C cooler in the 2000s, when the world was approximately 0.61°C cooler than in 2026. The study determined that such high temperatures across a large part of Europe had less than a 1 per cent chance of occurring in any given year in today's climate.
com reported that the heatwave broke temperature records in Spain and Germany.
Germany, Hungary and Austria recorded highs of 40°C or above. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark approached 40°C, while one location in Western France reached 43.8°C. Humidity levels above 45 per cent were recorded in several countries.
Keeping added that the future frequency of similar heatwaves depends on how much countries reduce emissions. OilPrice.com reported that several parks caught fire, transport services were disrupted and electricity grids came under extreme pressure during the heatwave. Many schools and businesses closed, and health warnings were issued across the region.
