Heatwaves in Europe Summer 2026

[Pauline]

We are on our 4th heatwave in Europe.

The first was at the end of May when we were in Baden-Baden, Germany. Temps were over 90F for a week. We were in an apartment with no AC but we had ceiling fans, a large balcony and it was an older building with thick walls.

The second was the end of June as we were driving home across northern France from Switzerland. It was 100F in Obernai where we stayed in the Alsace. It continued after we got home to Dorset with temps in the high 80sF.

The third came in the first half of July. Again we were in Dorset with temps in the mid 80sF. We have no AC but have good fans.

The fourth is not hitting Dorset. Our temperature is 77F today.

Hot and sunny. Not what you expect in Dorset all summer. Our lawn is golden. The fields are golden. They are predicting food shortages because of the drought!

Historic July sees record dryness, unprecedented sunshine and exceptional warmth

July 2026 has been an exceptional month for the UK's climate statistics, with records challenged or broken for rainfall, temperature and sunshine, according to provisional Met Office statistics.

www.metoffice.gov.uk

And it has been much worse in the rest of Europe, especially in France and Spain with all the wildfires.

If you have been in the UK or the rest of Europe, how has it been?

Has anyone changed their travel plans because of this?

The park in Poundbury, Dorchester earlier this week.

 

[Tina]

Up here in the mountains, at 1000 metres above sea level, it's the first year in the 26 I've been living here that we sleep with just a sheet and the window open at night. Today we were in Brescia where my car (reliable as regards temperature) showed 38° C (100.4 F). When we arrived back home at 5pm it was 30 even here. And this has been continuing, on and off, since the end of May.

 

[Sandrac]

Rome has been pretty unpleasant. A bit hotter every day - about 38C plus humidity today - with no end in sight for at least another 10 days. As Pauline describes, the heat has come in waves, each a bit more intense than the last. I'm grateful that I live here and am not on vacation because it would so hard to be outside between 10 a.m. and about 8 p.m. Even inside churches, which are often a bit of a sanctuary from the sun, it's painful. I do a long morning walk about 6:30 a.m., maybe a few errands, and am back inside by 9.

This is my 15th summer living in Rome and the worst yet in terms of how long the heat persists.

 

[vicogirl51]

I’m in the Appenine Mts Val di Lima area and it’s been brutally hot for the last 5 weeks with temps between 87-94 in the daytime! It does drop to 65-70 at night so we are able to sleep comfortably plus we have ceiling fans.
We also have a drought conditions as we’ve had rain once since our May arrival! I don’t remember summers like this in the 60’s, 70’s , 80’s , 90’s onward until the last 8-10 yrs !!

 

[Pauline]

And the fifth heatwave is next week. Hopefully the last. I’ve never had a summer like this in the UK and we’ve been here 16 years. Today was delightful though. High of 70F, lovely sea breezes.

 

[Georgia & Zig]

We are on our 4th heatwave in Europe.

The first was at the end of May when we were in Baden-Baden, Germany. Temps were over 90F for a week. We were in an apartment with no AC but we had ceiling fans, a large balcony and it was an older building with thick walls.

The second was the end of June as we were driving home across northern France from Switzerland. It was 100F in Obernai where we stayed in the Alsace. It continued after we got home to Dorset with temps in the high 80sF.

The third came in the first half of July. Again we were in Dorset with temps in the mid 80sF. We have no AC but have good fans.

The fourth is not hitting Dorset. Our temperature is 77F today.

Hot and sunny. Not what you expect in Dorset all summer. Our lawn is golden. The fields are golden. They are predicting food shortages because of the drought!

Historic July sees record dryness, unprecedented sunshine and exceptional warmth

July 2026 has been an exceptional month for the UK's climate statistics, with records challenged or broken for rainfall, temperature and sunshine, according to provisional Met Office statistics.

www.metoffice.gov.uk

And it has been much worse in the rest of Europe, especially in France and Spain with all the wildfires.

If you have been in the UK or the rest of Europe, how has it been?

Has anyone changed their travel plans because of this?

View attachment 50788
The park in Poundbury, Dorchester earlier this week.

We were in Milan on June 23rd and it was 40.5 C! That’s over 100 F I think. The next day we flew home to Kentucky where the temps were sort of back to normal. We were lucky that the Airbnb we stayed at on the 23rd had air conditioning!

 

[BryanS]

38C is just over 100F. That has been our high temps in most of Italy for too many days since the end of July and maybe some relief starting this weekend of 3 or 5 degrees C cooler (low 90'sF). None of our friends here recall it ever being this bad for this long.