Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July on record as climate change fuels a historic summer of heat, drought and wildfires across the region, the EU's global warming monitor said.
Europe is currently the world's fastest-warming continent and the first two months of summer have been marked by successive heatwaves, scorching temperatures and bone-dry conditions. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said the combined average temperature in western Europe for June-July was 21.62C - beating the 2022 record for the same period.
With the ramifications of this summer's heatwaves to be felt in food production and health outcomes across the continent, the summer of 2026 will long be remembered.
