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Europe suffered unprecedented wildfires and heatwaves in 2025, impacts that are expected to worsen on the world’s fastest-warming continent.

Last year was the hottest year on record in the UK, Iceland and Norway and one of the three hottest years in Europe as a whole, according to an annual report by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). More than 95 per cent of the continent experienced above-average annual temperatures. Scandinavia, Finland and north-western Russia saw their worst-ever heatwave, 21 days of simmering temperatures that reached 30°C (86°F) even at the Arctic circle.

This extreme heat probably stunted animal and plant growth while encouraging the spread of invasive species and pests, showing how the climate crisis is contributing to a crash in biodiversity, at the World Meteorological Organization said at a press conference.

“This region would [typically] see zero to two days of strong heat stress, and we are speaking about 21, so this had a major impact on ecosystem health,” she said. “Since 1980, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, [and] heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe.”

Climate warming set the stage for record wildfires in Portugal and Spain in August, the extremely hot, dry, windy conditions there at least 40 times more likely. More than 10,000 square kilometres burned, and at least three people were killed. Fires approached Madrid, and authorities had to shut down parts of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Smoke drifted as far as the UK.

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Across Europe, wildfires emitted 47 million tonnes of carbon, a record amount. Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Cyprus all topped their previous fire-emissions records.

Soil conditions were the driest in 33 years of observations, with more than a third of Europe suffering extreme agricultural drought, especially the UK, Turkey and Ukraine. While parched soils probably encouraged wildfires in many countries, it was increasing fluctuations in the weather that supercharged the blazes in Portugal and Spain, according to at ECMWF. An extremely wet spring that boosted vegetation growth was followed by record summer heat, which dried out those plants and shrubs, creating a tinderbox.

“If you have a very high fuel load in addition to the wildfire weather, so hot, dry winds in particular, that’s when we get these catastrophic conditions where wildfires spread very quickly,” Burgess said at the briefing. “National parks need… firebreaks around them to make sure if there is a fire, it doesn’t spread.”

The ocean around Europe was also abnormally hot, breaking the record for annual sea surface temperature for the fourth year in a row. A record 86 per cent of these seas suffered strong, severe or extreme marine heatwaves. The most extreme hotspots occurred west of Ireland, south of Iceland and south-east of Spain.

For the past three years, heatwaves have struck 100 per cent of the Mediterranean Sea, which is warming up faster than the global average. Waters in Italy and Spain reached 30°C, warmer than a typical swimming pool, raising the risk of fish death, as well as the spread of bacteria and algae. Past marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean have killed off huge amounts of coral, seagrass beds and shellfish.

To limit future damage, Europe needs to lead the way on slowing climate change, of the European Commission said at the briefing. In 2025, solar power generated a record 12.5 per cent of the continent’s electricity, with a total 46 per cent coming from renewables.

European countries are also among those taking part in the first in Colombia this week, which was organised after the COP30 climate summit in Brazil failed to agree on a roadmap to end oil, gas and coal emissions.

At the same time, Europe should adapt to future climate risks, such as multi-year megadroughts similar to the one already gripping the western US, according to officials.

“We need to address these risks,” Chrenek said. “The cost of inaction is significantly higher than the cost of tackling negative impacts.”