Western Europe has experienced its hottest June on record, driven by an intense heatwave that delivered unprecedented temperatures, widespread drought, and heightened wildfire risks. According to the latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this regional extremity is backed by rapidly warming oceans and a strengthening El Niño event set to dominate global weather patterns through late 2026.
Compiled & Adapted by: Anett Schwarz -The Meridian Herald
Western Europe’s Hottest June on Record
In the second half of June 2026, an intense heatwave swept across the European continent:
- Record Temperatures: Western Europe recorded its warmest June in history, with an average land surface air temperature of 20.74°C—a staggering 3.06°C above the 1991–2020 average.
- Regional Impacts: England and France experienced their warmest Junes on record, while the UK overall, Germany, and the Netherlands recorded their second-warmest.
- Europe-Wide Context: For Europe as a whole, it was the second-hottest June on record (19.14°C). Demonstrating a steep warming trend, eight of Europe’s nine warmest Junes have occurred since 2019.
- Drought & Wildfires: Below-average rainfall and high atmospheric pressure severely reduced soil moisture and river flows across France, central, and eastern Europe, directly exacerbating wildfires in Spain and France.
Detailed regional variables and long-term climate trends can be visually explored via theCopernicus Climate Atlas.
Record Ocean Heat and Rapidly Intensifying El Niño
Beyond Europe, global surface air temperatures averaged 16.54°C (1.39°C above pre-industrial levels), making it the second-warmest June globally on record, just 0.12°C cooler than June 2024.
- Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Record: Daily extra-polar sea surface temperatures reached an all-time high for June at 20.86°C, exceeding the previous record set in June 2024.
- Strengthening El Niño: Multi-model ensemble forecasts indicate that El Niño is intensifying rapidly into a strong event, with sea-surface temperature anomalies expected to exceed 2.9°C in key monitoring regions between August and October 2026. This is further compound by a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.
“El Niño is not just on our doorstep – it is inside the house and turning up the heat… The warm-up act is over. We cannot afford to wait for the main event.”
— António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
“El Niño is one of the most closely monitored climate phenomena in the world. But forecasts in themselves do not prevent hazards, people do.”
— Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General
Seasonal Outlook (July–September 2026)
WMO probabilistic forecasts project a near-universal dominance of above-normal land temperatures globally between 60°S and 60°N.
- Precipitation Shifts: A strong El Niño atmospheric response will bring heavily elevated rainfall to the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, while driving below-normal precipitation across Australia, the Indian Subcontinent, and northern South America.
- Europan Rainfall: Models indicate a latitudinal split across Europe, with a tilt toward above-normal rainfall in southern Europe and below-normal rainfall across northern Europe.
Source Attribution:
- Sources: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S / ECMWF), World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- Interactive Data Tool: Copernicus Climate Atlas
Compiled & Adapted by: Anett Schwarz -The Meridian Herald
Image: Richard Vanlerberghe -Unsplash free image-Tuscan sunlight with refreshing water mist in the urban atmosphere.
