June's European Heatwave Was 2°C Hotter Than 2003 Due to Climate Change

World Weather Attribution concluded that June 2026's record European heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without anthropogenic climate change. Its modeling indicates an equivalent event in June 2003—which killed tens of thousands—would have registered roughly 2°C cooler. Since 2003 has anchored European heat mortality studies for two decades, a same-magnitude heatwave now running 2°C hotter fundamentally reshapes baseline assumptions for public health planning across the continent.