Western Europe records its warmest June-July on record

Western Europe has lived through the warmest June-July period ever observed. This comes from Copernicus, the European Commission's Earth observation and monitoring programme, run in partnership with the European Space Agency.

In July alone the third and fourth heatwaves since May were recorded. For this summer that means an exceptional spell of heat, in intensity as well as duration.

The heat did not come alone. Across much of the region the widespread drought already observed in May and June continued and intensified. The prolonged combination of high temperatures and lack of water encouraged the spread and intensification of extreme wildfires.

The record extends to the sea

The month's most telling figure comes from the oceans. In July 2026 the surface temperature of the non-polar seas was the highest ever measured for that month: 20.96 degrees on average, above the previous record of 20.89 degrees set in July 2023.

The warming was fuelled in part by the development of El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific, the periodic phenomenon that heats the waters of the central, southern and eastern Pacific. Forecasts suggest the exceptionally high temperatures will strengthen further in the coming months.

In Europe the record values were measured along the Atlantic and in the western Mediterranean. They were associated with widespread marine heatwaves of strong or severe intensity, which affected coastal ecosystems and the communities living there.

This is where the two sets of data meet. A warming sea does not stay an oceanographic fact: coastal communities, fisheries and the balance of ecosystems feel its effects alongside those of the heat on land.