Status: 07.09.2021 5:35 p.m.
The data from the EU Earth observation program Copernicus go back to 1979, but there has never been a summer as hot as this year on the continent in all these years. This had devastating consequences, especially in the south.
This year’s summer months of June, July and August were the warmest in Europe on record. This was announced by the European climate change service Copernicus (C3S).
Accordingly, the average temperature was almost one degree above the average for the years 1991 to 2020. The warmest summer months to date were recorded in 2010 and 2018 and each was about 0.1 degrees cooler than this year.
In August there were huge differences between the south and the north
In August, temperatures in Europe were close to average overall, but people experienced the month very differently: While several heat records were broken in the Mediterranean, it was cooler than usual in the north of the continent.
The EU program referred to the 48.8 degrees measured on August 11 in Sicily. If this value were confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, it would be the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe. The heat wave, which also affected Spain, Greece and Turkey, contributed to “favorable conditions” for the devastating fires in the region.
The EU’s climate change service produces monthly reports on air temperature, sea ice and the water cycle. It is based on data from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the globe as well as model calculations.