The British newspaper The Guardian has revealed that the record-breaking heatwave that struck Europe in June 2026 is not merely a passing weather event, but a clear signal of how climate change is reshaping risks — even in regions with advanced infrastructure, sophisticated health systems, and high disaster-response capabilities.
Heatwaves in Europe have become a recurring headline for successive years, evidence that the Old Continent is entering a different climatic zone. Data from the European Copernicus observatory and the World Meteorological Organization indicate that Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating up at more than twice the global average.
The continent has warmed by approximately 2.5 degrees Celsius compared with the pre-industrial era, while global warming stands at roughly 1.4 degrees.
The United Kingdom broke its June temperature record more than once, France recorded its highest temperature in history on two consecutive days, Spain logged its highest daily average temperature for June, and Switzerland also announced its hottest June day on record. These events confirm that rising temperatures have become a systemic challenge affecting climate, health, the economy, and governance.
Climate change has directly contributed to the intensification of extreme heatwaves in Europe. A rapid attribution analysis conducted by the World Weather Attribution initiative concluded that climate change driven by fossil fuels made this heatwave more intense and more widespread.
Such conditions were described as having been near-impossible in a pre-global-warming climate. The Carbon Brief website also noted that Europe is warming faster than the global average, increasing the likelihood of dangerous heatwaves.
The heat continues across Europe: yesterday, at least 130 million people — particularly in central and eastern parts of the continent — faced temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Temperatures surpassed 35 degrees across a vast area around the Carpathian Mountains and the Balkans, encompassing almost all of Hungary.
Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Austria, southern Poland, and western Ukraine were also affected. Intense heat struck 30 million people in Italy, particularly in the densely populated Po Valley, as well as the south-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, which is accustomed to severe heat.
In France, where the heatwave is receding but a public health emergency remains in place, peak temperatures will affect around 3 million people.
In Slovakia, a maximum level-3 alert was declared across almost the entire country, with temperatures potentially reaching 40 degrees Celsius, according to the National Meteorological Institute.
A red alert was also declared in eastern Austria, with temperatures expected to reach 39 degrees during the day in Vienna and 23 degrees at night.
In Croatia, authorities — as elsewhere across the Balkans — warned of dangerous weather conditions.
In Poland, where authorities have recorded 56 drowning deaths as people sought relief from the heat since the start of June, 17 of them on Sunday alone, police said the daily toll was the highest this year and called for