Western Europe Records Hottest June Amid Global Climate Extremes

Western Europe achieved its June record in 2025, the numbers unveiled by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) disclosed. The area experienced successive heat waves during the month, with surface temperature spiking to a high of 46°C in some parts of Spain and Portugal. The prolonged heat condition resulted in widespread high heat stress across southern and western Europe affecting millions of residents.

World-wide, June 2025 was the third hottest recorded, following the previous two hottest Junes of 2024 and 2023. It is one of a series of increasing global warming primarily caused by releases of greenhouse gases. Europe, warming at some multiple of the global average rate, has ranked among the highest hotspots of global climate-related temperature trends.

Europe's heatwaves arrived in two waves: 17-22 June and 30 June-2 July. Both heat waves were heat dome heat waves, atmospheric systems which trap warm air over a region, amplifying heat and air pollution. Alongside extremely high land temperatures, the western Mediterranean Sea itself experienced extremely high sea surface temperatures. In some locations, these were as much as 5°C higher than the season norm, a record high of 27°C on 30 June.

These warm sea surface temperatures were coupled with severe night-time coastal moisture, restricted natural cooling, and stressed marine ecosystems. Some of the highest "feels-like" temperatures were measured over Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and the Balkans. Equivaent values of 48°C—nearly 7°C above average—were rated as extreme heat stress off Lisbon.

While Europe wrestled with the increased heat, the rest of the world also felt the extreme weather. 102 Chinese weather stations recorded their June peak temperatures ever recorded, with some recording more than 40°C. Unhealthy heat has also been seen in areas of the United States. A report based on an AFP article using figures from Copernicus stated that 12 countries with a population of about 790 million people had average record heat during that month.

Aside from heat, June also saw a series of other extreme weather events. Bushfires quickly swept through parts of Canada and southern Europe. Fatal floods in South Africa, China, and Pakistan were felt. Copernicus explained that certain regions such as western Europe, North America, and some parts of Africa and Asia were drier than normal, whereas certain other regions such as south of Brazil, some parts of China, and the United States saw more-than-normal rainfall.

These extremes by nature disclose the multi-faceted effects of global warming, where rising average temperature translates into more severe weather. Heat can contain more water vapor, and these result in heavy rain and storms. With warmer oceans creating more evaporation which creates more large storms and disruption of weather patterns,.

The climate data of Copernicus is based on an unprecedented array of inputs including satellite photos, ocean reports, aerial reports, and ground weather stations. The data had been recording global temperatures in the past two years at or near record levels. Even though conditions of El Niño had contributed partially to previous warming, the conditions have now relaxed but the heat is nowhere to be found.

June 2025 was 1.3°C over the pre-industrial mean. While below the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C, it is the third of the past 24 months not to have breached it. The Paris Agreement is formulated to limit warming to 1.5°C in order not to initiate the most severe and irreversible effects of global warming. Still, the majority of climate scientists now forecast that staying below this threshold becomes steadily less probable.

Forecasts have estimated that the global warming could exceed 1.5°C by 2030. In such a case, countries will probably have to undertake the Herculean task of undoing the rise in temperatures through enormous mitigation activities. These include emission mitigation through the consumption of fossil fuels, the efficiency of energy, and investments in climate resilience and adaptation.

The regular frequency and intensity of heat waves, as in Europe this June, reinforce the necessity for emission-reducing practices in the future and adaptation to protect the vulnerable segments of society. Urban infrastructure, disaster response systems, and urban planning have to be transformed to adhere to sequential changes in climatic patterns.

As countries continue to be open to the impacts of a changing climate, climate information from institutions like the Copernicus will play a crucial role in contributing to policy and increasing public awareness. With records being broken for all-time highs in temperature against earlier years of record, the information is revealing a deteriorating climate situation that cannot be ignored.

Source:
AFP 2025, by Kelly Macnamara and edited by Andrew Zinin