Hottest July on record for world’s seas as Europe battles heat and drought
Record ocean heat coincides with a summer of extreme weather in Europe, where prolonged heat and drought have fuelled wildfires
The world's seas were hotter last month than in any July on record, with global average sea surface temperatures outside polar regions reaching their highest level for the month, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The previous July record was set in 2023. Sea surface temperatures also reached record highs along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, where severe marine heatwaves affected large parts of Europe's seas.
Surface air temperatures globally in July were only 0.01C below the record set in July 2024, making July 2026 the joint-second warmest July on record.
Western Europe recorded its hottest June-July period on record, with prolonged heat contributing to drought and wildfires across the Mediterranean region.
The first two months of summer were 2.79C warmer than the usual average in western Europe, surpassing the previous record set four years ago, Copernicus said.
Central Europe has also been hit by a severe heatwave, with national temperature records falling in Austria and Slovakia. Prolonged hot and dry conditions have dried vegetation and increased the risk of major wildfires.
Samantha Burgess, a climate scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said the summer was "a clear example" of climate breakdown intensifying interconnected extreme weather events.
"As persistent high-pressure systems trapped heat over western Europe, the extreme temperatures also amplified widespread drought," Burgess said. "As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily."
Copernicus said exceptionally low rainfall and soil moisture intensified widespread dryness across western Europe in July, including France, Spain and parts of Germany and the UK.
Low river flows affected water supplies, irrigation and power generation. Two coal-fired power plants in Poland and Hungary's sole nuclear power plant were forced to shut temporarily because of inadequate cooling water.
Heat and drought are also putting pressure on Europe's economy. Early estimates suggest the June heatwave cost grain farmers around €2 billion in lost crops.
About 500,000 hectares have burned across the European Union since the beginning of the year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
Víctor Resco de Dios, a professor of forestry engineering at the University of Lleida, said climate change was creating increasingly favourable conditions for "mega-wildfires".
He said vegetation management and urban planning could help reduce the risks, but warned that "what seems extreme to us today will be remarkably benign in a few decades" if sufficient adaptation measures are not taken.