Why Europe is getting so hot

Western Europe is experiencing an intense spring heat wave with unusually hot temperatures across the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. The heat is driven by a slow-moving high-pressure “heat dome” from northern Africa that traps hot air over the continent. Such systems have become more common over the past 25 years, increasing the frequency and severity of heat waves. Climate scientists report that recent European heat waves since 2003 have been much more likely and more intense because of human-induced climate change. The European State of the Climate report notes that at least 95% of the continent had above-average annual temperatures in 2025, with extreme heat reaching near the Arctic Circle and record-high sea surface temperatures.

"Much of Western Europe is suffering through an intense spring heat wave, with unusually hot temperatures from the UK and Ireland in the north, through Germany and France and all the way down into Spain and Italy. The unseasonable spring weather is the result of a "heat dome." This strong, slow-moving high-pressure atmospheric system from northern Africa is trapping hot air over Europe, much like a lid on a boiling pot of water."

"Such weather systems have become more common in Europe over the 25 years, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, fueling more frequent and extreme heat waves. "Temperatures on this scale were once exceptional even at the height of summer," said Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, in a statement. "This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it.""

"To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Temperatures on this scale were once exceptional even at the height of summer," said Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, in a statement. "This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it." Europe warming twice as fast"

"Previous analyses of more than half a dozen heat waves in Europe since 2003 conducted by climate scientists at the UK-based World Weather Attribution, which Otto co-founded, show the extreme weather was "much more likely and more intense due to human-induced climate change." The latest European State of the Climate report, released in April, noted that at least 95% of the continent experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025. Intense heat waves above 30 Celsius were felt as far north as the Arctic Circle, and sea surface temperature was the "highest on record.""

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