Starting in late May 2026, several severe heatwaves affected Europe. Temperature records were broken in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The first heatwave began on 24 May, with temperatures higher than normal and several heat-related deaths. Temperatures were the highest ever recorded for May, with climate change causing the earlier onset of Central Europe's summer. Western Europe was the most affected area, with reports of record-breaking temperatures in France, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Other countries with unusually high temperatures were Portugal, at , and Spain, with temperatures in the southwest reaching .
A second, more severe heatwave began on 17 June, just days before the summer solstice. In France, Météo-France declared 23 June the country's hottest day since measurements began in 1947, with temperatures reaching in Pissos, in Bordeaux, and a June record of in Paris. In the United Kingdom, temperatures peaked at . On 26 June, the World Meteorological Organization said the heatwave was expected to affect many areas of western, central, and southern Europe over the following two weeks, with the focus of the heat likely to shift towards the Balkans. By , over 5,600 excess deaths were reported. Analysis by World Weather Attribution concluded it was the most severe heatwave ever recorded over the region studied, and that it was "virtually impossible" to explain its greater intensity relative to the 1976 Britain & Ireland heatwave without accounting for climate change in Europe.
A third heatwave in the United Kingdom began on 4 July. The UK Health Security Agency implemented many heat-health alerts across England. The first areas of England officially met heatwave conditions during the morning of 6 July as temperatures in parts of south-eastern England exceeded for the third consecutive day; temperatures peaked at in Teddington. Temperatures peaked at in Wisley, Surrey on 9 July, which the Met Office reported was the eighth day above in 2026, marking a new UK record for the most days exceeding that temperature in a single year. The length of this heatwave has led to 'extreme' marine heatwaves, affecting the southern North Sea and parts of the English Channel, which could have potentially negative impacts on marine life.
The heat also caused many forest fires across Europe. The heatwaves have also caused widespread drought across Europe.
The Elbe, Rhine and Danube experience a severe drought and a record shallowness in the Balkans on 10 August.
Concerns were raised over rivers becoming too hot and shallow for atomic power stations to use in future years.
Public discussion focused on climate change adaptation, net-zero emissions goals, and the role of air conditioning in Europe, where the technology is used much less than in both China and the US.
By country Contents
Albania
Temperatures in Albania hovered between on 23 June. The Ministry of Health put out a heat warning on 24 June. Berat and Gjirokastër reached , but the national average fell to on 6 July.
Andorra
Civil Protection issued a temperature related yellow alert on 18 July, due to forecasted temperatures of 30 °C and 33 °C.
The May 23rd-29th caused several temperatures over 30 °C. Civil Protection issued a temperature related alert.
28th Borda Vidal 33.1 °C Escaldes 31.6 °C Certes 30.5 °C Encamp 30.3 °C
29th Roc de Sant Pere hit 32.3 °C Andorra la Vella 32.3 °C
Austria May and June In May, new temperature records were set at 46 GeoSphere Austria stations. Of those, Lienz had the highest temperature, recording on 26 May. The city also had a record eight hot days in May, each with a temperature of at least , beating the previous record of three set in 2001. Bregenz and Eisenstadt had also set the new record for the highest number of hot days in May. Additionally, May had significantly below-average rainfall, with some regions being between half and two-thirds below the 1991–2020 average. May was also the fifth sunniest on record.
On 18 June, GeoSphere Austria announced that a heatwave was imminent, with highs between expected to persist through the end of the month. On 20 June, temperatures reached at five GeoSphere Austria stations and a temperature of was recorded in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, marking the first time the value had been reached in Austria in 2026. On 21 June, GeoSphere Austria recorded a temperature of at least at 18 stations in its network, which included a temperature of in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg and a temperature of at a further two stations.
On 24 June, GeoSphere Austria announced that temperatures were expected to exceed in all state capitals and reach in Vienna on both 27 and 28 June. As a result, the highest heat warning would be in effect for much of northeastern Austria, including Vienna, as well as for the southern cities of Graz, Klagenfurt and Villach, whilst the second-highest heat warning would be in effect for other parts of the country. The Austrian Grand Prix, a Formula One race taking place at the Red Bull Ring on 28 June, was declared a heat hazard by the FIA as temperatures at the circuit were expected to reach during the race.
On 27 June, a temperature of was measured in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, breaking a previous national June temperature record that was set in 2013, when a temperature of was measured in Waidhofen an der Ybbs. The same day, new June temperature records were set in six out of nine states of Austria, with the previous national June temperature record also surpassed in Vienna and Innsbruck, where temperatures reached and , respectively. A temperature of was measured in Bad Goisern, whilst Eisenstadt reached .
On 28 June, temperatures exceeded at several stations in Lower Austria and Vienna, as June temperature records were broken nationwide at 102 of 251 stations that have been active for more than 15 years. That day, a temperature of was measured in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, which set a new June temperature record for Austria and marked the first time the value had been reached in the capital since records began. Outside Vienna, a temperature of was measured in the Langenlebarn area of Tulln, Innsbruck reached for the second consecutive day, Linz was one of three places in Upper Austria where a temperature of was measured, alongside Enns and Wels, and the same temperature was recorded in Eisenstadt, the state capital of Burgenland.
On 29 June, it was reported that nighttime temperatures did not drop below at 90 of 280 stations nationwide and a station in the Ottakring district of Vienna did not register temperatures below , which set a new June record for the highest nighttime temperature since the beginning of record-keeping in Austria. The same day, highs in excess of were recorded at several stations, with a temperature of measured in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, which surpassed the national June temperature record set in Vienna the day before and marked the first time since the beginning of record-keeping that a temperature in excess of had been measured in Austria on two days.
The heatwave lasted 14 days and ended on 1 July, with severe thunderstorms affecting parts of northeastern Austria that day. During the heatwave, which was the longest to affect Austria in June, new local temperature records were set at 60 of 251 stations that have been active for more than 15 years, whilst an additional 88 of the 251 stations set new June temperature records for their respective locations. At the state level, June temperature records were broken in all Austrian states except Carinthia. Historically, this June was more than warmer than the 1991–2020 average for Austria and the fifth-warmest on record.
July and August On 29 July, a new heatwave began in Austria, the second of the year nationwide. In western and southern Austria, the heatwave was the third of the year, after an early heatwave that began on 24 May and lasted between five and nine days. It was initially expected to reach its peak on 31 July and, similarly to the June heatwave, be most intense in the lowlands of eastern Austria, where temperatures were predicted to reach between . Drought was felt in various regions of the country and there was a heightened risk of wildfires associated with it, with such conditions mainly resulting from the fact that, as of 27 July, the amount of precipitation since December 2025 was approximately 30 percent lower than the average needed to prevent drought. As of 29 July, there were just three of 2,114 municipalities in Austria that did not experience at least one day with a temperature of or higher, with several municipalities experiencing more than 30 such "heat days" in 2026.
On 31 July, GeoSphere Austria measured a temperature of in Wieselburg in Lower Austria, which set a new national record for the highest July temperature, surpassing a 1983 record of in Dellach im Drautal in Carinthia. It also set a new July temperature record for the state of Lower Austria for the first time since 1957, when a temperature of was measured in Horn. At the state level, July temperature records were also broken in Vienna and Upper Austria, as temperatures exceeded at several GeoSphere Austria stations. Preliminary data suggested that at least 30 of these stations set a new yearly record.
On 3 August, GeoSphere Austria measured a temperature of in the Stammersdorf area of Vienna, marking the second time the value had been reached in the capital in 2026 and setting a new temperature record for the location. The service measured temperatures in excess of at several of its stations in northeastern Austria, including a temperature of in the Langenlebarn area of Tulln, with Eisenstadt and St. Pölten both reaching as the highest temperature for a state capital outside Vienna.
On 4 August, a temperature of was measured at the aforementioned station in the Stammersdorf area of Vienna, which broke a 2013 record of in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg for the highest temperature measured in Austria since records began. It was one of nine GeoSphere Austria stations to measure a temperature in excess of that day. The record lasted just one day, as the service measured a temperature of at its station in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg on 5 August. It was among five stations in its network to register a temperature in excess of that day. Also among the five stations was the one in the Stammersdorf area of Vienna, which measured a temperature of for the second consecutive day.
On 10 August, water levels along the Danube in Austria were reported to be significantly lower than typical, leading to the cancellation of around 30 percent of all Austrian cruises along the river. Water levels in the Danube measured at a station in Hainburg an der Donau were the lowest since the station began operations in 1976, with the lowest values for both July and August being significantly lower than those recorded both during the 2003 European heatwave and on multiple occasions during autumn and winter, when water levels in the Danube in Austria typically reach their yearly lows. As a result of the drought that had intensified after the June heatwave and persisted into August, farmers warned of a significantly reduced harvest. In late July, the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture expected a decrease of 15 to 20 percent in the grain harvest compared to the previous year and one of the worst harvests in the last 10 years. In mid-August, estimates by AgrarMarkt Austria suggested a decrease of 19 percent in the grain harvest for 2026 compared to 2025. On 11 August, it was reported that the climate data since 1961, available to GeoSphere Austria, indicated the longest and most consistent yearly deficits in precipitation for eastern Austria in the last 65 years.