Heatwaves to become 'more frequent, more intense' in Europe

Irish Examiner

5 days ago

Intense heatwaves like the one that hit the Mediterranean late last month are set to become 'more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe', it has been warned.
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month was the third warmest June ever recorded globally as an 'exceptional heatwave' impacted large parts of western Europe.
It comes as Ireland is set for a period of hot weather of its own this week, with Met Éireann forecasting an 'Azores High' to bring temperatures as high as 28 degrees by the weekend.
Copernicus said that June 2025 was just 0.2C cooler than the record last year in June 2024.
However, it was 1.3C above the pre-industrial level which is only the third month in the last 24 with a global temperature less than 1.5C above this level which is seen as a crucial threshold above which the effects of climate change globally would worsen significantly.
Copernicus said that western Europe saw its warmest June on record given it was the focus of the heatwaves.
Heat stress
It said much of the region saw the 'feels-like' temperatures exceeding 38C, bringing 'very strong heat stress'. Parts of Portugal saw temperatures feeling like 48C or 'extreme heat stress', it said.
Conversely, it said that June 2025 was wetter than average in Ireland and the north of Britain.
Although Europe saw significant heatwaves in June, this has continued well into July as France, Spain and others were subject to health warnings given the intense heat.
Last week, temperatures were forecast to reach 40C in Paris and to stay unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, 17 of Italy's 27 major cities were experiencing a heatwave, according to health officials.
A tourist wearing a hat and a face mask walks during a heatwave at the Trocadero square in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, on June 30. Picture: Ludovic Marin / AFP via Getty
In Greece this week, authorities imposed mandatory work breaks in parts of the country expected to exceed 40C. The Labour Ministry ordered the midday to 5pm stoppage for outdoor manual labour and food delivery services, primarily in central Greece and on some islands.
'June 2025 saw an exceptional heatwave impact large parts of western Europe, with much of the region experiencing very strong heat stress,' Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said.
'This heatwave was made more intense by record sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean. In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe.'
Temperatures in Ireland
Met Éireann, meanwhile, has stated that high pressure will continue to build this week, with warm and settled weather expected to persist. It has also said it will become 'very warm or even hot from Thursday'.
Friday and Saturday are set to be the warmest days, with temperatures ranging from 23 to 28 degrees.
It previously said that June 2025 was the fourth warmest June on record in Ireland, despite being on the cloudier northern edge of the heat dome that hit Europe during that month.
"[This] brought some uncomfortably high nighttime temperatures, contributing to the high June temperatures overall,' Met Éireann said.