The 2026 European Heatwave by the Numbers
A heat dome parked over Europe drove what researchers are calling the worst heatwave ever recorded on the continent. Germany broke its all-time record, Spain hit 45.1°C, and the UK beat its June record three days running. Here's the full breakdown.
The UK's third heatwave of the summer peaked around July 10–12 and is now slowly easing westward. During it, the Met Office confirmed a record eight days above 34°C in 2026— beating the totals set in 1976 and 2020 — and 2026 became the first year in the UK record to reach 35°C in May, June and July. Farther south the blocking high held firmer: the Iberian Peninsula and southern France stayed in the low-to-mid 40s°C, with readings near 45°C in parts of France, while major wildfires burned from Portugal through Spain into southern France. With the Atlantic flow locked out for most of the month, the pattern only gradually broke down. We're updating the country-by-country records below as national services confirm them.
Starting around June 20, 2026, a dome of high pressure settled over Europe and refused to move — then reloaded again in July. It dragged superheated air north off the Sahara and, day after day, pushed temperatures 14–18°C above normal for late June from Portugal to Poland. By the time the first pulse shifted east, it had set a provisional new national record in Germany, toppled all-time and monthly marks in at least eight countries, and — according to researchers cited by the Washington Post — become the worst heatwave ever recorded on the continent.
The single highest reading was 45.1°C (113.2°F) at Andújar in southern Spain on June 22. But the more telling story is how far north the heat reached: Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK — places with cool maritime or continental climates — all set records normally reserved for the Mediterranean.
The Records, Country by Country
Late-June national records are provisional until the relevant meteorological service ratifies them. Click a country to explore its full weather history.
Andújar, Andalusia (22 June) — the heatwave’s highest reading. Spain’s hottest-ever June, with the mercury back in the low-to-mid 40s across the southwest in July.
Coschen, on the eastern border with Poland (28 June) — a provisional new all-time national record. Records fell on three consecutive days, topping the 41.2°C set in 2019.
France’s hottest day on record by nationwide average temperature (24 June), per Météo-France; the individual peak was 44.3°C at Pissos on 23 June — France’s hottest day since records began in 1947.
Szécsény (30 June) — as the dome slid east, Hungary set a new national heat record, one of at least 13 European countries to break marks in the 2026 heatwaves.
Santon Downham, Suffolk (June 26) — the hottest June day ever recorded in the UK, beating 35.6°C from 1976. The June record fell three days in a row.
Basel — Switzerland’s hottest June temperature on record, breaking a mark of 36.9°C that had stood for around eight decades.
North of Odense (June 27) — a provisional all-time national record, in a series that began in 1874.
KNMI issued the maximum on its heat-force scale for only the 4th time since 1991, as the country logged its first-ever "super-heatwave" — above 35°C three days running.
For the all-time context behind these numbers, see The Hottest Temperatures Ever Recorded in Europe and which places are reliably the hottest in Europe (the flip side of our warmest winter escapes). For the UK specifically, we break down every record the 2026 heatwave broke and rank the hottest days in UK history.
The Human Toll
Heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather, and the 2026 event was lethal from the start. As the heatwave built, Spain reported more than 100 heat-related deaths, and France linked a series of deaths to the heat — including dozens of drownings as people sought relief in rivers, lakes, and the sea. France placed 49 of its 96 mainland departments under its highest heat alert and closed or shortened hours at hundreds of schools. As the episodes stacked up through late June and into July, the running estimated death toll across Europe climbed above 9,900 — a figure drawn from early attribution and excess-mortality estimates that, like every heatwave toll, will almost certainly be revised upward for months as the data is analysed.
The World Health Organization called the situation a “health emergency,” noting that heat has killed an estimated 200,000 people across Europe over the past four years. Death tolls from heatwaves are almost always revised upward for months afterward, once excess-mortality data is analysed — the early figures are a floor, not a ceiling.
Why It Happened: The Heat Dome
The engine was a heat dome — a vast, stubborn area of high pressure that acts like a lid, trapping hot air and letting it bake hotter under relentless sun. It was held in place by an “omega block,” a kink in the jet stream shaped like the Greek letter Ω that stalls weather systems for days. With the Atlantic flow blocked, the pattern pulled air straight off the Sahara over a continent that was already dry.
Scientists were unequivocal about the role of climate change. An analysis covered by CNN concluded the event would have been “virtually impossible” just a few decades ago without human-caused warming. Each fraction of a degree of background warming makes the peaks of a heat dome higher and the records easier to break — which is why a reading like Germany's 41.7°C, unthinkable a generation ago, now arrives in a June heatwave. The same long-term trend is documented in our look at 2026 as the hottest year on record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hot did it get in the June 2026 European heatwave?
The peak was 45.1°C (113.2°F) at Andújar, Spain on June 22. Germany set a provisional all-time national record of 41.7°C, France logged its hottest day ever by nationwide average, and the UK beat its June record three days running at around 38°C.
Was this the worst heatwave on record in Europe?
Researchers cited by the Washington Post described it as the worst ever recorded in Europe, based on intensity, scale, and the number of records broken. Temperatures ran 14–18°C above normal for late June across much of the continent.
How many temperature records did the UK break in 2026?
By mid-July the UK had logged a record eight days above 34°C in 2026, beating the previous highs of 1976 and 2020, per the Met Office. 2026 also became the first year in the UK record to hit 35°C in May, June and July together. The single hottest reading came in the late-June pulse (near 38°C in southern England); the third heatwave peaked around July 10–12 before easing. We rank the full list in every record the 2026 UK heatwave broke.
Did Germany and Denmark break their all-time records?
Yes — both provisionally. Germany's DWD recorded 41.7°C at Coschen (previous record 41.2°C, 2019), and Denmark reached 36.6°C north of Odense in a record that dates to 1874. Both await official ratification. See the full ranking in hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.
Sources
Temperature readings and records are from national meteorological services (UK Met Office, Germany's DWD, Météo-France, Spain's AEMET, the Netherlands' KNMI, MeteoSwiss, and Denmark's DMI) and the World Meteorological Organization. The UK mid-July milestones (eight days above 34°C; 35°C in May, June and July) are from the Met Office's July 2026 heatwave updates. Impact figures and the “worst on record” assessment are drawn from reporting by the Washington Post, CNN, Time, Reuters, and Al Jazeera. Late-June national records are provisional pending official ratification, and heatwave death tolls are typically revised upward as excess-mortality data is analysed.