Europe

Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life

The waters surrounding Europe are heating faster than the climate as a whole with implications for nature, food systems and coastal communities.

July 2026 has been the month with the world’s seas hitting their hottest surface temperature on record (The Guardian, 2026). Record high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were measured in the Atlantic along the European coast and in the Western Mediterranean (Copernicus, 2026), and SSTs were as much as 6°C hotter than normal in the Mediterranean … Continue reading “Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life”

Climate change increases likelihood of compounding drivers of severe wildfire conditions in France and Spain

After months of drought (WWA, 2026a) and periods of extreme heat (WWA, 2026b), Western Europe is battling widespread and intense wildfires. At the time of writing (July 30th 2026) the most severe fires are affecting southwestern France and central and eastern Spain. Firefighters in both countries have been supported by aircraft and emergency personnel deployed … Continue reading “Climate change increases likelihood of compounding drivers of severe wildfire conditions in France and Spain”

Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management

The European summer of 2026 has so far been characterised by exceptional heat and widespread dryness (Copernicus, 2026). Between April and June, large parts of the continent, from Portugal in the southwest to southern Finland in the northeast, received below-average rainfall. Combined with successive heatwaves, these conditions have intensified drought across Europe, contributing to widespread … Continue reading “Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management”

Fossil fuel emissions have rapidly worsened European heatwaves in just a few decades

A person uses an umbrella to keep cool during a heatwave in London, England. June 22 2026. The UK’s Met Office issued a rare red extreme heat warning across parts of the country for this week.

Just weeks after a severe heatwave that broke all-time May records, Europe is experiencing another major heatwave that is breaking June and annual records. This is particularly remarkable given that June is not historically the hottest month in Western Europe. Across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and southern England, temperatures are reaching 5–12°C above seasonal averages, … Continue reading “Fossil fuel emissions have rapidly worsened European heatwaves in just a few decades”

Increasingly severe rainstorms put people and structures built on floodplains at risk

Since 16 January, nine named storms have battered the western Mediterranean, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco hardest hit.  In Spain, flooding and infrastructure damage from heavy winds forced over 12,400 evacuations, affected 115,000 people in 19 villages in the Sierra de Cádiz, and led the Spanish Government to commit more than €7 billion in aid, … Continue reading “Increasingly severe rainstorms put people and structures built on floodplains at risk”