Paris (France) (AFP) - The European Union Climate Observatory reported Friday that 52% of Europe's population was exposed to severe heat stress during the summer, which witnessed an exceptional heat wave this year.
Published on: 02/10/2026 - 09:50
Due to climate change, Europe, the fastest warming continent in the world, has suffered from a continuous series of heat waves that began unusually early in the spring, breaking temperature records and causing tens of thousands of additional deaths.
“One of the most striking features of 2026 is that the heat was not only exceptional in terms of its intensity, but also in terms of its geographical extent,” said Samantha Borges, head of the climate division at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which runs the Copernicus Observatory.
The summer of 2026 was the third hottest summer in European history, and the hottest summer in Western Europe, with a number of countries recording the highest temperatures ever.
Burgess said in a press conference that four of the ten strongest heat waves in Europe occurred last summer alone, and the heat wave witnessed in August 2003 still ranks first as the most intense wave ever recorded.
Heat waves this summer exposed 52% of Europe's population to "very severe" heat stress, as the perceived temperature exceeded 38 degrees Celsius, according to the Copernicus Observatory.
About 80% of the European population experienced “severe” heat stress, or a perceived temperature exceeding 32 degrees Celsius, over a period of 41 days at the end of the season.
Heat stress occurs when the body's natural cooling systems are overwhelmed, causing symptoms ranging from dizziness and headaches to organ failure and death.
© 2026 AFP
The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.
