This was the hottest summer yet, and the coolest we will experience for the rest of our lives.
This summer has shown that the climate crisis is a more prominent threat than ever before. Rising temperatures in Europe have caused deadly wildfires in Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, and England. In the UK, heatwaves have caused drought, impacted food production, and affected the wellbeing of citizens.
CNN Climate reports that soils are losing moisture and European rivers are shrinking dramatically in comparison to previous summers, affecting ecosystems, economies and local communities. According to The Guardian, heatwaves across Europe destroyed roughly €2 billion of crops in June alone. Global food prices are the highest they have been in three years because of the dry conditions, affecting wheat and maize crop yields.
Wildfires in Central Europe continue in August despite the improvement of wildfire detection methods and cooperation by European Union nations. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service states that Europe is warming at “more than twice the global average since the 1980s”.
On Monday 3 August, around 224,000 people in France returned to their homes after a destructive wildfire forced them to evacuate. The event has been called France’s “largest civilian evacuation outside wartime”, a comparison that undoubtedly shows how dire the situation has become.
This July, there were 458 wildfires in the UK alone.
Scotland’s treasured Cairngorms National Park is now unrecognisable after wildfires took over the highlands in late July. This was the “worst fire the Cairngorms has ever seen”, according to The Guardian. As of 8 August, 25 square kilometres of the national park have been destroyed in the fires. Cairngorms has often experienced wildfires during warmer seasons, but “this year’s fire feels like a wake-up call”, says The Guardian’s Amanda Thomson.
The Met Office has stated that the UK is on track to have its hottest summer ever recorded. The fifth heatwave of the year began in the first week of August, with unexpected 36ºC temperatures causing Yellow heat health alerts to be put in place.
This July was the UK’s hottest in almost two centuries. Wales experienced their hottest mean temperature in July, and as of 11 August, 70% of England is in drought after experiencing its second warmest July ever recorded. May and June were also record-breaking months for heatwaves in the UK. It is estimated that more than 2,700 deaths were caused by the climate in those two months.
According to a report by Greenpeace UK, the high temperatures this summer caused mass sleep deprivation; 65% of adults in a questionnaire expressed that they struggled to sleep during the heatwave. Additionally, 60% of workers said that heat in the workplace was unbearable and they struggled with productivity.
“Heatwaves are no longer just a novel inconvenience; they are a creeping health, housing and economic emergency,” states Mel Evans, Head of Climate at Greenpeace UK.
Europe is merely one recent example of how global heating is threatening livelihoods, ecosystems and economies, but the Global South has been experiencing the worst of the climate crisis for decades. Researchers suggest that the earliest warning signs were visible from the 1940s in areas of Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa. Since then, natural disasters in the Global South have become more prominent threats. In 2011, Somalia experienced a deadly famine due to drought that affected around 3.1 million people. Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa in October 2025 was one of the strongest storms in recorded history. Experts believe that this year’s El Niño, currently taking place in the Pacific, could potentially be the “strongest anyone alive on Earth has ever experienced”.
Europe is only now starting to feel the true severity of the climate crisis. The rising temperatures this summer display concerning possibilities for the future, and regions will have to find ways to adapt to the unpredictable changes ahead.
Image credit: STV News
