The ECMWF and WMO European Climate Status Report found that 95% of Europe experienced above-average heat, 70% of rivers flowed below average, and more than 10,000 square kilometers burned.
Europe continues to be one of the most prominent arenas of the Climate crisis. The European State of the Climate 2025 report, published by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ECMWF, and the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, paints a stark picture: in 2025, heat waves were recorded from the Mediterranean to the sub-Arctic regions, sea surface temperatures in the European region reached a record high, the area of fires was the largest on record, and snow and glaciers continued to shrink.
According to the report, at least 95% of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025. Subarctic Finno-Scandia, which includes areas in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland, experienced the longest heat wave on record in the region: three consecutive weeks, with temperatures approaching and even exceeding 30 degrees Celsius near and within the Arctic Circle. The town of Frosta in Norway recorded a record temperature of 34.9 degrees Celsius.
The heat is not just in the air. In 2025, sea surface temperatures in the European region were the highest ever recorded, for the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking heatwaves. 86% of European sea areas experienced at least one “severe” marine heatwave, and 36% of these experienced “severe” or “extreme” conditions. The entire Mediterranean Sea has experienced at least one day of a severe marine heatwave in each of the last three years, and in 2025 it recorded the second highest annual sea surface temperature on record.
The worsening crisis in cold regions
The effects of warming are particularly noticeable in the continent’s colder regions. In March 2025, the area of snow cover in Europe was 1.32 million square kilometers below average, a 31% decrease. This is roughly the same area as France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria combined. According to the report, this is the third lowest snowfall since records began in 1983. All of Europe’s glaciers lost mass, with Iceland recording the second-largest glacier loss on record. The Greenland Ice Sheet lost 139 billion tons of ice in 2025.
The European water cycle also showed signs of stress. For 11 months of the year, river flows were recorded below average across Europe, and 70% of rivers had annual flows below average. In May, about 53% of Europe was affected by drought conditions, and 2025 was one of the three driest years in terms of soil moisture since 1992. Meanwhile, storms and floods still affected thousands of people, although the extreme rainfall and flooding were less widespread than in previous years.
The hot and dry conditions also contributed to an exceptional year in fires. According to the report, in 2025, about 10,345 square kilometers burned in Europe, the largest area recorded (equivalent to slightly more than the entire area of Cyprus). Spain was particularly affected and was responsible for about half of the fire emissions, but Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany also recorded the highest fire emissions recorded in their countries. In addition to the direct damage to people, infrastructure and forests, fires also damage biodiversity, and in areas of peatlands they may release large carbon stores and further accelerate the climate crisis.
Damage to biological diversity
The report emphasizes that the damage to biodiversity is not a separate outcome, but part of the same system. Heat waves at sea are damaging marine habitats such as seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean; droughts and fires are damaging terrestrial systems; and changes in seasons, temperature and precipitation are altering the habitats of many species. The European Union has already set binding targets for the restoration of ecosystems, including restoring at least 20% of land and sea areas by 2030 and all systems that need it by 2050, but the authors of the report emphasize that the pace of preparation and protection of nature must increase.
Alongside the warnings, the report also points to progress in the energy transition. In 2025, renewable energy sources provided 46.4% of Europe's electricity, and solar electricity reached a new peak contribution of 12.5%. However, according to WMO and ECMWF, progress in clean energy does not change the main conclusion: Europe is already facing real impacts of the climate crisis, and the need is not only to reduce emissions but also to accelerate adaptation, protect water, forests, coasts and ecosystems.
The findings also align with international reports that Europe is warming at an exceptionally rapid rate. Reuters reported following the report that almost all of Europe experienced above-average temperatures in 2025, and that the year included records for fires, sea surface temperatures and land dryness. The Guardian highlighted that the rate of European warming over the past three decades has been higher than the global average, and that the heatwaves in northern Europe in 2025 illustrate the extent to which known climatic boundaries are shifting.
To the article on the World Meteorological Organisation website
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It's not terrible, the most important thing for them is to talk about Israel all day and the situation of Arab terrorists.