Overview
- Multiple observational datasets show the 2026 summer brought exceptional heat across the continent, with roughly 18 million people experiencing temperatures of 40°C or higher for the first time this century and a 48.4°C reading recorded at Orani in Sardinia.
- Some locations endured long runs of extreme heat, including more than 55 days above 35°C in parts of Spain, which left communities with little relief from daytime stress.
- Nighttime temperatures also rose sharply, with new areas seeing minimums at or above 25°C and about five million people in France affected by unusually warm nights that increased health risks.
- Heat, drought and dry fuels drove large fires that had burned nearly 600,000 hectares by mid‑August and forced evacuations, while low river flows hit the Rhine, Loire and Thames and some towns needed delivered drinking water.
- Preliminary counts point to more than 32,000 excess deaths between mid‑June and mid‑August and widespread economic strain, and scientists and UN officials warn such summers could become more common without rapid cuts to greenhouse‑gas emissions.