Much of Western Europe has been baking under a “heat dome” over the last week, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many places.

The infographic above shows the highest temperature ever recorded in each European country, based on all-time records. 

It shows the temperature, record type, date, and location.

The data comes from the World Meteorological Organization and was accessed via Wikipedia.

TL;DR

• A heat dome over Europe between June 25 and June 30 ranks as the largest single-week cluster of national all-time temperature records in European meteorological history
• All nine records are both higher and earlier than before. European all-time temperature records have historically been set in July or August

The Day Three Countries Broke Records Simultaneously

No single date in the record carries more weight than June 28. 

On that day:

• Czechia recorded 41.9°C at Doksany,  a new all-time national record. 
• Germany recorded 41.7°C at Neißemünde-Coschen
• Poland recorded 40.5°C at Słubice 

Germany’s new record is particularly notable because it surpasses a previous all-time record that was itself considered exceptional: the 41.2°C set in 2019. 

Germany has now broken its all-time national temperature record twice in seven years. 

The ceiling that seemed unthinkable in 2019 has become the second-highest reading in German climate history before the same generation has aged out of remembering when it was set.

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The Highest and the Most Surprising

Hungary recorded the highest absolute temperature among all-time record breakers in the dataset: 42.0°C at Szécsény on June 30. 

Szécsény sits in Hungary’s northern hills, near the Slovak border, at approximately 48 degrees north latitude (the same latitude as Paris or Munich). 

Forty-two degrees Celsius is a temperature associated with the edges of the Sahara. 

The fact that it occurred in central, landlocked Europe, at a latitude where summer temperatures historically peak well below that figure, is the dataset’s most striking geographic detail.

Denmark’s record of 37.0°C, set on June 27, makes the opposite case. 

37 °C does not sound alarming compared to Hungary’s 42.0°C or France’s 44.3°C. However, Denmark lies at approximately 56 degrees north latitude, the same as Edinburgh. 

Its previous all-time record had stood since 1975, a 51-year mark broken in a month that climatologically should not produce Denmark’s hottest temperatures. 

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Earlier Than Ever

The timing is a finding in itself. 

European all-time temperature records have historically been set in July or August (the climatological peak of summer, when the continent’s heat accumulates to its maximum).

All nine all-time records in this dataset were set in the last week of June. 

Something’s Missing… 

The data records the dry-bulb air temperature, the standard figure used for official record-keeping.

It does not capture humidity. 

The context across Europe this week has been specifically described as humid heat, more tropical than temperate. 

At high humidity, the apparent temperature (what the body actually experiences) is substantially higher than the measured air temperature. 

ELI5 (Explain It Like I’m 5)

Europe experienced an extreme heat wave last week that was so hot it broke all-time temperature records in 9 countries in just 5 days. Three countries (Germany, Czechia, and Poland) all broke their records on the same day. 

Hungary got the hottest at 42°C. What makes it especially unusual is that these records were broken in late June, which is earlier in the summer than they normally occur. Even Denmark and Belarus, which are far north like London, recorded temperatures over 37-40°C.

Source: 

World Meteorological Organization, accessed via Wikipedia.