Report finds Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent

Europe is heating up faster than any other continent, according to the European State of the Climate Report for 2025, which describes a region being reshaped by accelerating change.

Across the Mediterranean, the Alps and up to the Arctic Circle, the shifts are no longer faint, slow-moving or far off on the horizon.

The fallout is rippling through Europe’s environment, its economy and the ecosystems that support both.

Hotter air, warming seas, vanishing ice, parched soils and ecosystems under strain are sending unmistakable alarms through every corner of the climate system.

Only the Arctic is warming faster than Europe, with temperatures there rising at a rate of 0.75C per decade.

As temperatures climb at speed, Europe is increasingly serving as a live case study in what fast-moving climate change looks like — and in how quickly governments and communities can adapt.

That is the stark assessment laid out in the report, released today by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the World Meteorological Organisation.

The findings show that at least 95% of Europe saw above-average temperatures last year, while several northern nations logged their hottest year on record or came close with their second hottest.

Sub-Arctic Fennoscandia endured a three-week heatwave, with temperatures rising above an extraordinary 30C within the Arctic Circle.

Europe also recorded its second most severe heatwave on record, with impacts reaching from the south of the continent into far northern regions.

Why Europe is warming faster than any other continent is complex, but scientists say the picture is becoming clearer.

According to the report, the drivers include shifts in atmospheric circulation, increased solar radiation, cleaner air that allows more sunlight to reach the ground, diminishing snow cover and Europe’s geography, which places some very cold areas close to the rapidly warming Arctic.

Together, those factors are intensifying the pace of warming.

Globally, 2025 ranked as the third-warmest year ever recorded

Glaciers in every European region registered a net loss of mass in 2025, with Iceland among the hardest hit.

Snow cover in March was 31% below average, and the end-of-season snow extent was among the lowest ever observed.

At the same time, the Greenland Ice Sheet lost 139 billion tonnes of ice — equal to one and a half times the total amount of ice contained in all glaciers across the European Alps.

Europe’s seas are changing quickly as well.

Annual sea surface temperatures across the European ocean region hit a record high, while the Mediterranean posted its second-highest reading.

An exceptional 86% of European seas experienced at least “strong” marine heatwave conditions.

The report says those changes are already transforming marine ecosystems.

Among the examples is Posidonia Oceanica, a seagrass found only in the Mediterranean that spans about 19,000 square kilometres and plays a vital role in coastal biodiversity and fisheries.

Its extent has fallen by 34% over the past 50 years, a decline linked to the combined pressure of warming waters and human activity.

Although some parts of Europe were hit by storms and floods, 2025 was, on the whole, a dry year.

It ranked among the three driest years for soil moisture since 1992.

A large band stretching from northwestern to eastern Europe recorded below-average rainfall, and at one stage in May, 35% of the continent was facing extreme agricultural drought.

Average temperatures are now about 1.4C above pre-industrial levels

The effect on rivers was just as striking. Around 70% of European rivers recorded below-average annual flows, with low river levels persisting for 11 months of the year.

Still, the drying pattern was not the same everywhere.

The report points to sharp hydrological contrasts, with intense rainfall in some places and prolonged drought in others, making water management both harder and more urgent.

While extreme rainfall and flooding were less widespread in 2025 than in recent years, the damage was still considerable.

Storms and floods killed at least 21 people, affected more than 14,500 others and left communities coping with disruption and destruction.

In the decades ahead, Europe is expected to face some of the biggest increases in flood risk anywhere in the world.

Wildfires scorched more than one million hectares, the largest area ever recorded, with especially severe outbreaks across the Iberian Peninsula.

In Spain, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands and even the United Kingdom, wildfire emissions reached record levels in several cases, fuelled in part by the combination of drought and heat.

There were, however, signs of progress, with the report pointing to structural shifts in Europe’s energy system and continued movement on climate mitigation.

In 2025, renewables generated 46.4% of Europe’s electricity, close to half of all power produced. Wind supplied 18%, hydropower 15.9%, and solar climbed to a record 12.5% share.

Fossil fuels made up 27.5%, extending their gradual decline.

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Worldwide, 2025 was the third-warmest year on record. Average global temperatures are now running at around 1.4C above pre-industrial levels.

If current warming continues, the 1.5C threshold set by the Paris Agreement could be reached before the end of this decade — more than 10 years earlier than expected when the accord was signed.

ECMWF Strategic Lead for Climate Samantha Burgess said: “The pace of climate change demands more urgent action. With rising temperatures, and widespread wildfires and drought, the evidence is unequivocal; climate change is not a future threat, it is our present reality.

“In confronting the impact on biodiversity loss, we need to match the speed of adaptation happening in the clean energy transition and at the same time, ensure robust science continues to underpin our policies and decisions.”

Dušan Chrenek, Principal Adviser for Digital Green Transition at DG Clima, said: “The climate change signal remains unequivocal across Europe, and the European State of the Climate 2025 report is a stark reminder that we must sustain and accelerate both adaptation and mitigation efforts.

“This edition provides compelling evidence of the profound impacts of climate change on intensity of extreme weather events, biodiversity and economy, while reinforcing Europe’s strategic ambition to further strengthen its Earth observation capabilities by harnessing cutting-edge technologies.”