Europe is going through one of its most intense heatwaves ever recorded. While people across the continent struggled through days of scorching temperatures, scientists say something else stood out just as much. In perhaps the clearest time yet, researchers say they can directly link a major heatwave to climate change.
Unlike in the past, they did not spend months studying the event before concluding. Within days, scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said the heatwave was driven by climate change. There was no waiting, no hesitation, and no “maybe.”
A heat dome trapped Europe under extreme temperatures
A powerful high-pressure system, often called a “heat dome,” caused the heatwave that settled over Western and Central Europe during the final weeks of June. The system refused to move for days. It pulled hot air from North Africa and trapped it over countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and southern England.
As a result, temperatures across much of the region climbed between 5°C and 12°C above what is normal for this time of year. Several countries either matched or broke long-standing records.
France recorded a new June high of 44.3°C. In the United Kingdom, the Met Office issued consecutive red heat alerts as southern England baked under extreme heat. The country broke its hottest June temperature record three times in a single day before Gosport reached 36.1°C, beating the previous June record of 35.6°C that had stood since 1976.
Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic also experienced their hottest days ever during the same week. Germany even broke its own national temperature record twice within two days.
Spain’s Cantabria region touched 43.7°C, setting a new all-time record and beating the previous mark set only last year. This was also Europe‘s second major heatwave of 2026. It came only weeks after another spell of extreme weather that had already shattered May temperature records across several countries.
If June’s records stand, it will also be the first time since 1911 that the UK has seen national temperature records set in two consecutive months.
Scientists say climate change made this heatwave possible
The strongest evidence comes from the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international group of researchers. According to the study, the daytime temperatures and unusually warm nights seen during this event would have been “virtually impossible” at this time of year under the climate that existed around 1976.
The researchers found that if the same weather pattern had happened 50 years ago, temperatures would have been about 3.5°C cooler. The study also compared today’s climate with conditions just 20 years ago.
It found that an event like this is now 200 times more likely than it was two decades earlier.
Scientists ruled out El Niño
Many people naturally wondered whether El Niño, which is currently active in the Pacific Ocean, played a major role. The researchers looked into that possibility. Their answer was clear: it did not.
According to the WWA analysis, climate change, not El Niño, was the main reason behind the exceptional heat. Nearly half of Europe’s cities are seeing record heat stress.
The researchers also looked beyond air temperature. Instead, they studied “heat stress,” which combines temperature and humidity to show how hot conditions actually feel to the human body. The WWA study examined 854 cities across 30 European countries. It found that 45% of those cities have either already broken or are expected to break their highest-ever heat stress levels in 2026.
Every city included in the study across the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Luxembourg experienced record-breaking heat stress. The report also found that Europe’s hottest days are warming three times faster than the global average.
Nighttime temperatures are also rising much faster than before, at twice the global average rate. That matters because hot nights prevent the human body from cooling down and recovering after a scorching day. Scientists say these “tropical nights” are one of the biggest reasons why heatwaves are becoming more dangerous, even in places where daytime records are not always broken.
The heat left behind deaths and widespread disruption
More than 60,000 heat-related deaths were linked to extreme temperatures across Europe in 2022. Another 47,000 people died from heat-related causes in 2023.
While the final toll from this year’s heatwave is still being counted, researchers fear it could also be significant. In France, at least 42 people drowned in a single week after trying to cool off in rivers and lakes. The extreme temperatures also proved deadly, with several heat-related deaths reported, including elderly people living in apartments and four babies, according to Euronews.
The extreme temperatures also disrupted critical infrastructure. Nuclear power plants in Switzerland, France and Hungary either reduced operations or temporarily shut down reactors because river water had become too warm to safely cool them.
In Germany, parts of the Autobahn cracked under the intense heat, forcing road closures. Rail operators across Europe also warned people to avoid non-essential travel because of heat-related disruptions.
Scientists say older adults living alone, people with chronic illnesses, those facing financial hardship, homeless people and migrants remain among the groups most at risk during extreme heat.