Summer 2022 was Europe's hottest in recorded history 'by a clear margin'

A firefighter walks in front of trees in flame during a wildfire in Boyne, southern France last August. Picture: Pascal Guyot/AFP via Getty Images

Europe’s summer was the hottest in recorded history “by a clear margin”, with all countries across the entire continent bar one experiencing annual temperatures above the 30-year average.

Only Iceland saw temperatures below the 1991-2020 average, as the summer contributed to Europe’s second hottest-ever year. Data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) show 2022 was cooler than 2020 by 0.3C, and marginally warmer than 2019, 2015 and 2014.