Theguardian iconTheguardianJun 26, 2026

European heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists say

Almost half of Europe's 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found. Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous.

European heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists say

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Almost half of Europe's 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found.

Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous.

Study also finds high humidity means people in hundreds of cities are enduring their worst ever heat stress The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible...

Building the complete brief

The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.

The useful part

Almost half of Europe's 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found. Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous. Study also finds high humidity means people in hundreds of cities are enduring their worst ever heat stress The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said.

Details worth keeping

Study also finds high humidity means people in hundreds of cities are enduring their worst ever heat stress The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said.

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app