Western Europe has been scorched by its hottest June on record, scientists have said.Inflamed by carbon pollution, the deadly June heatwave helped push surface air temperatures for the region 3.06 degrees above their average from recent decades, according to the EU’s Copernicus climate monitoring service.Globally, June 2026 was 0.56 degrees hotter than the 1991-2020 average and 1.39 degrees hotter than preindustrial levels, making it the second-warmest June on record, the agency found. The planet’s oceans were hotter than scientists had ever seen them.“Together, these records reflect a climate system continuing to accumulate heat,” said Samantha Burgess, a climate scientist at Copernicus. “The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure.”Western Europe is facing its third heatwave in six weeks and widespread dryness is helping small wildfires explode into unchecked blazes. Copernicus said the succession of heatwaves illustrated “the growing challenge” posed by worsening heat extremes.Raging infernos have laid waste to large areas of southern Europe in recent days, prompting the EU to scramble firefighters and water-bearing planes to help national services overwhelmed by simultaneous blazes. Data published on Tuesday shows EU wildfires have burned 56 per cent more land than usual.The area that has gone up in flames is four times bigger than the average for this time of year in France, where 35,400 hectares (87,474 acres) have burned, and double the average in Spain, where 55,128 hectares (136,224 acres) have burned, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.Barcelona set a new heat record on Wednesday with temperatures of 40.5 degrees, Spanish meteorologists said, while in France a 22-year-old firefighter died after tackling a blaze in the Alps, the French interior ministry reported.A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun while visiting La Sagrada Família in Barcelona on July 7, 2026. Photograph: Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images [ Irish holidaymakers leave belongings and flee French wildfiresOpens in new window ]In the UK, where Met Office scientists warned seas are facing an “extreme” marine heatwave, daytime temperatures on land are expected to reach highs of 34 degrees on Thursday. While not as scorching as June’s record-breaking heat, the high temperatures are expected to continue for 10 days.“To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering,” said Stephen Belcher, chief scientist of the Met Office. “Events like this bring home the implications of climate change.”Heatwaves have grown hotter and stronger as fossil fuel pollution and the destruction of nature has baked the planet. Scientists have urged a quick shift to a clean economy as well as adaptation to increasingly violent weather extremes.A huge plume of smoke rises above firefighters monitoring the progress of a wildfire in Aurel, Drôme, France, on July 8, 2026. Photograph: Thibaut Durand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images The World Health Organisation estimates 200,000 people have died from heat in Europe over the last four years and says most of the deaths are “entirely preventable”. To save lives, experts recommend installing air-conditioning for vulnerable groups, shading buildings with awnings and external shutters, providing cooling centres and bolstering health systems. – Guardian[ Met Éireann forecasts temperatures to increase from Friday as some areas face water restrictionsOpens in new window ]