Western Europe experienced one of its hottest Junes on record in 2026, according to a new analysis by Greek climate research platform Climatebook, based on preliminary Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis data. The findings highlight a stark contrast across Europe, with record-breaking heat in the west while Greece and much of the eastern Mediterranean escaped the worst of the month’s extreme temperatures.
Climatebook’s analysis shows that large parts of Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany recorded their warmest June since at least 1991, following an already exceptionally warm May.
France was among the hardest-hit countries. According to Climatebook, the country experienced its warmest June in at least four decades, with hundreds of local temperature records broken and maximum temperatures locally reaching or exceeding 44°C.
The exceptional warmth was driven largely by a persistent heatwave that settled over Western Europe during the final ten days of June. In some areas, average monthly temperatures ended up as much as 6°C above the 1991–2020 climate average, illustrating the intensity of the event.
The findings are consistent with reports from meteorological agencies across Europe, which documented widespread June temperature records, prolonged “tropical nights” where temperatures failed to fall below 20°C, and significant impacts on public health, transport and energy infrastructure.
Climatebook’s analysis of Copernicus data shows June 2026 was the hottest in decades across much of Western Europe, while Greece remained near average.
According to Climatebook, temperatures across Greece and neighboring Turkey remained generally close to seasonal norms, with only limited areas recording slightly below-average conditions. While the region still experienced periods of summer heat, it avoided the sustained, record-breaking anomalies that dominated Western Europe.
The analysis underscores the increasingly uneven nature of European heatwaves. While climate change is driving rising temperatures across the continent, the most severe anomalies can vary considerably between regions depending on atmospheric circulation patterns.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with heatwaves becoming more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting. Copernicus has already identified May 2026 as the second-warmest May globally, while an unusually early heatwave affected Western Europe during the second half of that month.
Climatebook’s assessment is based on preliminary ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The organization said its full June climate report, including detailed analysis of temperature and precipitation patterns across Europe and globally, will be published in the coming days.
