Overview
- The annual assessment, released Wednesday by Copernicus and the WMO, finds Europe has warmed about twice the global average since the 1980s.
- European seas hit their highest average surface temperature on record in 2025, with marine heatwaves touching about 86% of the region and threatening habitats such as Mediterranean seagrass.
- Heat on land intensified, as at least 95% of Europe logged above‑average annual temperatures and Fennoscandia endured a 21‑day stretch at 30°C or higher that reached inside the Arctic Circle.
- Wildfire activity surged to a record in 2025, with about 1,034,000 hectares burned across Europe and fire emissions at their highest recorded level.
- Cryosphere losses deepened, with March snow cover 1.32 million km² below average across Europe and Greenland shedding about 139 gigatonnes of ice, while the WMO counted at least 21 deaths and roughly 14,500 people affected by storms and floods and the report warns a probable El Niño could push risks higher this year.