Nearly all of Europe had above-average heat last year, as climate records toppled

Europe had record year for wildfires, sea temperatures, and heatwaves

An aerial view shows Bank of Spain amid a heatwave in Madrid, Spain, Jul 19, 2023. REUTERS/Guillermo Martinez

Almost all of Europe experienced above-average heat in 2025, a year that broke records for wildfires, sea temperatures and heatwaves as climate change worsens, EU scientists and the World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday.

At least 95% of Europe experienced above-average temperatures, while wildfires burnt more than 1 million hectares of land - an area larger than Cyprus and the biggest annual total on record, the WMO and the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said in their annual report on Europe's climate.

The findings set out how climate change is having increasingly severe consequences in Europe, at a time when some governments seek to weaken emissions-cutting policies over economic concerns. The European Union has vowed to stick to its green goals, but it weakened some climate rules for cars and companies last year after pressure from industry to help struggling firms.

Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent. The WMO and Copernicus said more than half of Europe was hit by drought conditions in May 2025, and the year overall was one of the three driest for soil moisture since 1992, as the warming climate imposes harsher conditions on farmers.

Europe's overall sea surface temperature hit an annual record high, and 86% of the region suffered strong marine heatwaves.

Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said the report showed that “climate change is not a future threat, it is our present reality.”

"The pace of climate change demands more urgent action," she said.

The WMO and Copernicus noted particular concern about changes in Europe's coldest regions - where snow and ice cover is crucial to help slow climate change, by reflecting sunlight back into space. This phenomenon, known as the "albedo effect", decreases if warmer temperatures cause more melting. Ice loss also adds to sea level rise.

Sub-Arctic Norway, Sweden and Finland experienced their heaviest heatwave on record last July, lasting three consecutive weeks, and temperatures inside the Arctic Circle breached 30 degrees Celsius. Iceland recorded its second-largest glacier loss in 2025 since records began, the report said.