On 29 April 2026, the European State of the Climate (ESOTC) 2025 report was published (https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2025).
The ESOTC report is produced by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by ECMWF, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and brings together the work of around 100 scientific contributors.
It provides a comprehensive overview of climate conditions in Europe in 2025 and updates on long-term trends, covering variables from across the Earth system, key events and their impacts, and a discussion of climate policy and action with a focus on biodiversity.
Rapid warming in Europe’s colder regions
The report shows a continuing trend of rapid warming across Europe’s coldest regions, including in the Arctic and the Alps, where snow and ice play a critical role in slowing climate change by reflecting sunlight back into space.
The area of Europe experiencing winter days with freezing temperatures is shrinking. Europe as a whole also experienced a record low number of cold stress days in 2025, with 90% of the continent experiencing fewer days than average with at least ‘strong’ cold stress.
Above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation led to a significant reduction in snow and ice cover. In March 2025, the snow-covered area in Europe was around 31% below average – the third lowest snow extent since records began in 1983. Glaciers also experienced a net mass loss, with Iceland recording its second-largest glacier mass loss on record. The Greenland Ice Sheet lost 139 gigatonnes (139 billion tonnes) of ice – contributing 0.4 mm to global sea level rise.
Above-average summer temperatures and heat stress
Summer temperatures were above average across much of the continent in 2025, with several heatwaves.
July saw Europe’s second most severe heatwave on record, lasting 25 days (7–31 July) and affecting a large part of the continent.
In Türkiye, temperatures reached 50°C for the first time, with 50.5°C recorded at Silopi. In Cyprus, temperatures reached 44.7°C, a new record for July.
Sub-Arctic Fennoscandia saw its longest heatwave on record in July, spanning three weeks. During this period, temperatures close to and within the Arctic Circle exceeded 30°C, peaking at 34.9°C in Frosta, Norway.
In 2025, much of Europe (41%) also experienced more days than average with at least ‘strong’ heat stress, with southern and eastern Spain recording up to 50 more days than average with 'feels-like' temperatures above 32ºC.
Record marine heat and ocean warming
The annual average sea-surface temperature (SST) for the European region was the highest on record for the fourth consecutive year. Marine heatwaves affected 86% of the region, with 36% experiencing ‘severe’ or ‘extreme’ conditions – the highest proportion on record.
The entire Mediterranean Sea experienced at least one day with ‘strong’ marine heatwave conditions in each of the past three years. In the Norwegian Sea, ‘severe’ marine heatwave conditions also occurred in 2025.
Drier-than-average conditions across much of Europe in 2025
Much of Europe saw drier-than-average conditions in 2025, but with strong regional contrasts. A large area from northwestern to eastern Europe saw below-average precipitation, and it was one of Europe’s three driest years for soil moisture since 1992. In May, around half of Europe (53%) was affected by drought conditions. Annual river flow was below average in 70% of rivers, and while storms and flooding affected some areas, overall extreme precipitation and flooding were less widespread than in recent years.
Wildfires: burnt area in Europe reached a record level in 2025
A record area of around 1,034,000 hectares burnt across Europe in 2025. The largest contributions came from fires across the Iberian Peninsula in August.
Emissions from fires reached their highest levels on record in 2025, with Spain contributing around half of the total. Spain, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany all saw record annual high emissions.