In 2025, wildfires in Europe burnt the largest area of forest and caused the highest emissions on record, as the continent experienced its second most severe recorded heatwave, according to the latest European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report.

The annual report, by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), brings together key climate metrics and discussions of climate policy in Europe.

As experts say the Paris Agreement's limit of 1.5C for long-term global warming could be reached by the end of the decade, Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average. This is leading to more extreme weather events and has significantly damaged the continent's biodiversity.

This report, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, will "guide the decisions that will shape a more resilient, more sustainable and stronger future for Europe", affirmed the EU Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius.

This year's annual report found that in 2025, the annual temperatures were above average across almost the entire continent (at least 95%), with several northern European countries recording their warmest or second-warmest year on record. 

The annual sea surface temperature for Europe's ocean region was the highest on record. 

However, significant leaps have been made in the transition to renewable energy. Renewables supplied nearly half of Europe's electricity in 2025, with solar power making a record contribution of 12.5%.

The high temperatures recorded in 2025 are especially significant as they neared the record temperatures reached in 2023 and 2024. These years were during an atmosphere-warming El Niño event, while 2025 was in the cooling period of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

Director-General of the ECMWF and C3S, Florian Pappenberger, has said the "2025 report shows a continent warming rapidly and experiencing more frequent extremes" and will be used to "protect lives, infrastructure and biodiversity."

Data from early 2026 has also been released by the C3S. It showed that Europe experienced the second-warmest March on record this year and saw the second-warmest global sea temperature (SST) on record. Experts also project the start of a new El Niño event in the second half of the year.