Southern Europe could experience temperatures as high as 50°C (122°F) this summer, with experts warning that blistering heatwaves are becoming increasingly likely due to climate change. This forecast follows a record-breaking June for Western Europe, which saw temperatures soar and contributed to wildfires and thousands of excess deaths across the continent.
Professor Bill McGuire, Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at UCL, stated that exceeding 50°C is 'perfectly possible' in the coming weeks or next summer, when the impact of the developing El Niño phenomenon is expected to peak. He advised that holidaymakers in the Mediterranean may need to spend considerable time indoors in air-conditioned spaces.
Europe is currently experiencing a significant heatwave, with parts of Spain reaching 44°C (111.2°F) over the past week. These extreme temperatures have fueled wildfires in Spain and France, leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents. The French government has opened 'cooling centres' for vulnerable populations, including the elderly and homeless, in response to the scorching conditions.
Official figures indicate that over 1,000 deaths in Spain were linked to high temperatures in June. In France, nearly a third more deaths were recorded during the hottest week of that month, with over 2,000 excess deaths attributed to the June heatwave and an additional 300 during May's high temperatures.
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed that June 2026 was the hottest on record for Western Europe. Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF, noted that this record, along with continued global ocean warmth, reflects a climate system accumulating heat, leading to more intense heatwaves and rising risks.
The highest air temperature officially recorded in Europe is 48.8°C (119.84°F), set in Floridia, Sicily, on August 11, 2021. The previous record of 48.0°C (118.4°F) was recorded in Athens, Greece, in 1977.
Professor McGuire emphasized that climate change is unequivocally to blame for the intensifying heat. He pointed out that Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with average temperatures now over 2°C hotter than a century ago, and extreme high temperatures rising even more rapidly. He cautioned that these heatwaves are not the 'new normal' but the beginning of a trend of progressively hotter summers in the Mediterranean region as long as carbon emissions continue unabated.