July 2026 – Week 1

By Anders Lorenzen

In this week’s live blog, our key focus remains the extreme heat engulfing Europe, now moving into its second week. We will track the high fatalities as data comes in and will look at how governments are responding to the heat crisis combined with viewpoints from experts.

We will also have one eye focused on the Middle East as the ceasefire between the US and Iran are cast into fresh doubts.

As part of an expanded focus on real-time coverage, this live blog will continue to track developments across global energy markets, including electricity prices, oil and gas benchmarks, and renewable generation trends.

It is updated every day throughout the week with the most significant developments around energy and climate.

Last week’s live blog can be found here.

Latest

Wednesday 1st of July 2026

13:45 GMT

Oceans: Data released by the EU’s climate monitoring service, Copernicus, show that global ocean surface temperatures in June reached a new all-time high.

The Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) have jointly confirmed that daily sea surface temperatures on 21 June exceeded the previous record levels observed in 2023 and 2024, with El Niño conditions adding to an already significant signal.

According to the UN body, the two services have reached this conclusion independently, using separate ocean and climate monitoring systems built on satellite and in-situ observations. Their results, monitored through the C3S Climate Pulse application and the Copernicus Marine MyOcean Health platform, agree closely, underlining the robustness of the signal in both datasets.

Data from C3S showed a marginal increase to 20.86 ºC this year, beating the 2023 and 2024 record of 20.83 ºC.

CMEMS reported 21.0 ºC – a 0.1 ºC increase from 2023 and 2024.

Earlier updates

Tuesday 30th of June 2026

17:00 GMT

Temperature records: The records keeps coming in eastern Europe, with Hungary becoming the latest country to record a new all-time high temperature record.

This afternoon, in the district of Szécsény in the north of the country 42.0 °C was measured, beating the previous record of 41.9 °C set in July 2007 in the town of Kiskunhalas, in the county of Bács-Kiskun in the center of the country.

16:45 GMT

Temperature records: As the European heatwave are impacting the Balkan region, Slovakia has also reported an all-time high temperature record.

On Monday 41.0 °C was measured in Turni nad Bodvou in the eastern part of the country, beating the previous record of 40.3 °C set in the municipality of Hurbanovo in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region in the south-western part of the country in July 2007.

Monday 29th of June 2026

16:00 GMT

Extreme heat: We have now received the first attribution study on the June European heatwaves, and unsurprising the footprints of climate change is all over it.

World Weather Attribution (WWA), the climate change attribution group found that heatwaves cause more deaths in Europe than all other natural hazards combined. This is the most severe heatwave ever recorded of the studied region.

Compared against the historic 1976 the 2026 temperatures would have been virtually impossible to occur in June, while also highly unlikely at any time of the year. In 2003, the first major heatwave of this century, daytime heat like this would still have been very rare, about 10 times less likely than today, while nighttime temperatures such as this June would have been more than a hundred times less likely in 2003. 

Across large parts of Western Europe, June is warming faster than any other month.

The scientists conclude that this means that a similar heatwave in June would have been about 3.5°C cooler during the day in 1976 and about 2°C cooler in 2003. The nighttime temperatures would have been about 2.4°C cooler in June 1976 and about 1.3 °C cooler in June 2003. 

11:00 GMT

Extreme heat: More data are emerging on the extremely high fatalities connected to the heatwave in France.

The country’s health body, Public Health France reports that last week, deaths exceeded 1,200 on Wednesday and rose to over 1,400 on Thursday, AP reported, and Friday, hundreds more than usually.

According to authorities these numbers are expected to rise as more death certificates are processed, as evidence mounts of the high human cost of the climate-fueled extreme heat France and many European countries have been impacted by.

Sunday 28th of June 2026

20:45 GMT

Temperature records: As the European heatwave moves north and east, new temperature records are set.

Today Germany set a new all-time high of 41.7 °C which was recorded in at a weather station in Coschen, near the Polish border in eastern Brandenburg. It was the third consecutive day Germany had set new all-time highs as 41.3 °C was measured on the 26th, then followed by 41.5 °C on the 27th and 41.7 °C today. Prior to this week’s highs the previous high was 41.2 °C which was set in 2019 in the city of Lingen in the west of the country close to the Dutch border.

The Czech Republic also set a new all-time high as a weather station in Doksany north of Prague measured 40.8 °C – beating the previous record of 40.4 °C, set in Dobřichovice on 20 August 2012

Denmark also set a new all-time high as 37.0 °C was recorded in Odum near Aarhus, beating the previous all time high of 36.4 °C set in 1976.

Friday 26th of June 2026

17:55 GMT

Temperature records: On two occasions today has the UK set an all-time new temperature high for June, and it is therefore also the third consecutive day where the country has recorded a new all-time high reading.

In Santon Downham in Surrey, 37.3 °C was measured this afternoon.

11:50 GMT

Fatalities: While data is still preliminary and rapidly changing, it is certain it has come with very high fatalities.

Spain are paying a huge costs as the lives of over 200 people have so far been estimated to have been lost as a result of the June heatwave.

11:45 GMT

Extreme heat: Several other European temperature records have also been set in recent days.

In Switzerland, the 37 °C threshold was exceeded for the first time ever in June with 38 °C measured at the Basel weather station, beaten the previous record 36.9 °C which had stood since 1947.

11:30 GMT

Extreme heat: The UK are bracing for another day with extreme heat as the 30 °C was breached already at 9:00 this morning in Heathrow, West London.

This prompts speculation whether we are in for another temperature record being set today.

Forecasters are not predicting it, though still within the realms of possibility as BBC weather forecaster Guy Fawkes say that temperatures in the region of 35 °C to 37 °C this afternoon in south-east England.

11:15 GMT

Extreme heat: For two successive dates, the UK have set new all time-high June temperature records.

On Wednesday Gosport in Hampshire recorded 36.1 °C beating the 1976 record of 35.6 °C set in Southampton.

This was beaten the following day as on Thursday 36.7 °C was measured in Merryfield in Somerset, meaning over two days the 1976 was not just beaten but beaten significantly with over a degree.