Copernicus reports record thermal stress levels across Europe in 2026

In 2026, Europe faced its hottest summer on record, with the European Union’s Copernicus climate change observatory reporting that 52% of the continent was exposed to intense thermal stress. This state occurs when the human body can no longer regulate its internal temperature, leading to symptoms ranging from dizziness to multi-organ failure and death. Samantha Burgess, a climate researcher at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), highlighted that the heat was notable for both its intensity and vast geographical reach.

The summer of 2026 was the warmest ever recorded in Western Europe, with an average temperature of 21.7°C, which is 2.5°C above the 1991-2020 average. Western Europe experienced four of the ten most intense heatwaves in its history, with one region seeing 17 days where 60% of the territory recorded temperatures exceeding 30°C. These conditions, which began unusually early in the spring, were accompanied by widespread droughts, low river flows, and record sea surface temperatures, contributing to tens of thousands of excess deaths.