Climate records were broken in nearly all of Europe last year as temperatures soared above average.

Scientists from the EU and World Meteorological Organization reported that?2025 was a hotter than average year for?wildfires and sea temperatures, and for heatwaves. Climate change is accelerating, they said.

In their annual climate report, the WMO and EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that 95% of Europe had above-average temperatures. Wildfires burned more than one million hectares - an area bigger than Cyprus, making it the largest annual total ever recorded. The findings show that climate change has increasingly serious consequences for Europe at a time where some governments are trying to weaken policies to reduce emissions out of economic concern. The European Union has pledged to adhere to its green goals. However, it weakened some climate regulations for cars and businesses last year under pressure from the industry to help struggling firms.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world. WMO and Copernicus reported that more than half Europe would be affected by drought in May 2025. The year was also one of the driest years for soil moisture ever since 1992.

Europe's sea surface temperatures reached a record high, and 86% experienced strong marine heatwaves.

Samantha Burgess said that the report proved "climate changes are not a threat in the future, but our current reality."

She said that "the 'pace of climate change' demands urgent action."

WMO and Copernicus expressed concern over changes in Europe's most cold regions, where snow?and ice coverage is vital to slowing climate change by reflecting sunlight back into space. The "albedo" effect, also known as the "snow-and-ice cover", is lessened by warmer temperatures that cause more melting. The sea level is also impacted by ice loss.

Sub-Arctic Norway?and Finland endured their heaviest heatwave ever recorded last July. The heatwave lasted three weeks and temperatures in the Arctic Circle reached 30 degrees Celsius. Iceland experienced its second largest glacier loss since records began in 2025, according to the report.

(source: Reuters)