Overview
- NOAA confirmed that July 2026 was the hottest July on record globally, tying only with July 2024 and anchoring this summer as globally exceptional.
- Satellite and model analyses from NASA and Europe’s Copernicus service show Western Europe endured at least five separate heatwaves from May to mid‑August with broad areas reaching 40°C or higher and combined June–July temperatures at record highs.
- The heat and drought have had major human and infrastructure impacts, producing spikes in hospitalizations, disrupted transport and power systems, and preliminary reports that suggest roughly 10,000 excess deaths across several European countries.
- Europe is facing one of its worst recent fire seasons, with EFIS data placing 2026 among the top three worst years, Belgium’s High Fens blaze burning about 3,000 hectares, and governments taking drastic steps such as mass evacuations in France and engineering interventions on the Danube to protect water supplies and power plants.
- Scientists warn that warm oceans and a strengthening El Niño will likely prolong extreme heat and drought into late 2026, which could worsen fires, strain emergency services and energy systems, and increase the risk that 2027 will break recent temperature records.