The world’s average sea surface temperature outside the cold polar regions reached its highest level on record for July 2026, scientists said, surpassing the previous July record set in 2023.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service also found record July sea temperatures along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, as severe marine heatwaves affected European seas. The finding came during western Europe’s hottest June-July period on record.
Heat and drought intensified together
Copernicus said the first two summer months of 2026 were 2.79C hotter than usual, exceeding the previous record set four years earlier. It described the heat since the season began as exceptionally persistent.
Widespread dryness recorded in May and June intensified in July, with exceptionally low rainfall and soil moisture across much of western Europe. France, Spain, and parts of Germany and the UK were among the affected areas, where low river flows put pressure on water supplies, irrigation and power plants.
Related coverage: Southwest Europe battles extensive wildfires amid record heatwaves and evacuations.
Europe’s heatwave brought practical disruptions
Central Europe experienced a heatwave during which national temperature records fell in several countries, including Austria and Slovakia. Hot, dry conditions also helped drive wildfires across the Mediterranean and left vegetation primed to burn.
Shortages of cooling water forced two coal-fired power plants in Poland to shut last week. Hungary’s sole nuclear power plant also shut for the first time in its 44-year history, according to the supplied report. About half a million hectares had burned across the European Union since the beginning of the year, while smoke from burning vegetation contributed to above-average pollution.
Scientists link persistent extremes to wider risks
Samantha Burgess, a climate scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said persistent high-pressure systems trapped heat over western Europe while extreme temperatures amplified drought. As soils dry, she said, they lose natural cooling capacity, allowing heat to build more easily.
More context: European Heat and Drought Put Olive Oil and Food Crops at Risk.
Early estimates put this summer’s losses for grain farmers at €2bn. A working paper led by the CMCC European Institute on Economics estimated that Europe’s 2015-18 mega-drought cost €439bn, arguing that conventional assessments can miss economic damage that continues or compounds after the dry period ends.
The supplied report said a string of heatwaves since late spring had particularly affected Europe at the end of June, with the heat expected to have resulted in more than 10,000 deaths. Researchers also said vegetation management and urban planning could reduce the risk of increasingly severe wildfires.
Also read: England Declared in Drought as July Becomes One of the Driest Months on Record.
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