Overview
- The joint Copernicus and WMO assessment, released Wednesday, says at least 95% of Europe had above-average temperatures in 2025.
- Europe has warmed about twice as fast as the global average since 1980, making it the fastest-warming continent.
- European seas set a record for average surface temperature for the fourth straight year and widespread marine heatwaves coincided with continued glacier retreat and about 139 gigatonnes of ice loss from Greenland.
- On land, wildfires burned a record 1.034 million hectares, 70% of rivers ran below normal, and storms and floods left at least 21 people dead and thousands affected.
- WMO cautions that El Niño is likely to return in mid‑2026 and could intensify heat and drought, even as renewables rose to about 46% of electricity with solar at a record near 12.5%, a pace experts say still falls short.