Anthropogenic climate change amplified the June 2026 Western European heatwave

This paper finds that anthropogenic climate change amplified the June 2026 Western European heatwave.

This analysis presents the following key highlights:

• Meteorological conditions similar to those causing the June 2026 western European heatwave are up to 2.5°C warmer than they were in the past (1950-1987).
• About 327 million people and 15.6 trillion USD of economic activity were exposed to heat conditions intensified by climate change.
•  81% of those people (264 million people) and 86% of those assets (13.4 trillion) were exposed to “extreme” conditions, the highest-intensity category, even more than in similar past events.
• This event was associated with rare meteorological conditions, a persistent blocking anticyclone that amplifies already hot conditions. Such configurations have become significantly more persistent in the present climate, so that extreme heat now tends to last longer than in the past.
• The researchers ascribe the high temperatures causing the June 2026 western European heatwave to a combination of human-driven climate change, responsible for increasing temperatures, and natural climate variability, which has played a role in driving the anticyclone.