Europe Just Had Its Hottest May on Record — 5 Countries That Will Face The Worst Heatwaves In 2026

Europe got hot way too early this year. Normally, the continent waits for July to sweat. Not in 2026. By the end of May, Portugal had already hit 40.3°C. That's not a typo. That's the hottest May temperature Portugal has ever recorded. The UK broke its own May heat record twice in three days, finally landing at 35.1°C at Kew Gardens. Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Ireland all joined in too. Scientists are calling it a "heat dome", basically a giant lid of hot air sitting over the continent. So let's take a look at the countries feeling it the most, what the numbers say, and how people are coping.

Heatwaves Hitting Europe Hard in 2026

The trouble started in May. A wall of hot air moved up from North Africa and got stuck over Western Europe. Temperatures jumped 10 to 15°C above what's normal for the season. That's a huge jump.

France recorded its hottest-ever national average for a May day, at 24.9°C. Spain's health ministry logged 101 heat-related deaths in May alone, the worst since they started tracking this in 2015. The UK lost at least 13 people to water-related accidents as people tried to cool off in rivers and lakes.

People are coping the only ways they know how – drinking more water, avoiding the midday sun, hiding indoors with fans, and, in southern Europe, sticking to old habits like siestas and closed shutters during peak hours.

Cities have opened cooling centres in libraries and malls. But here's the catch: most UK homes don't have air conditioning, and only around 5% do, so the heat hits harder there than in places built for it.

Top 5 Countries Experiencing Extreme Heatwaves in Europe (2026)

The following countries are dealing with the worst of it right now. Portugal and Spain are seeing the highest actual temperatures. The UK is struggling because its buildings just aren't made for this kind of heat.

France saw deaths linked directly to the heat. Italy's power grid is already cracking under pressure, with Turin facing blackouts in May.

(Sources: 2026 European heatwaves tracker, UK Met Office, Spain's AEMET, Météo France, GeoSphere Austria, Euronews Health, June 2026)

1. Portugal: The Hottest Country in Europe Right Now

Portugal currently holds the top spot. On 27 May, the town of Mora recorded 40.3°C, the hottest May day the country has ever logged. What's wild is that 22 weather stations across Portugal broke their all-time temperature records that same week. Almost the entire country, from the Alentejo region down to the Algarve coast, saw "tropical nights", where it never cooled below 20°C even at midnight.

That's dangerous because your body needs cooler nights to recover from hot days. Heading into July, forecasters expect temperatures to stay 35 to 40°C in inland regions like the Douro and Tagus valleys, with the coast a bit cooler at around 35°C. Locals are leaning on shutters, siestas, and staying indoors during peak afternoon hours.

2. Spain: Deadly Heat and a Grim Death Toll

Spain isn't far behind. Vimbodí in Catalonia hit 39.5°C in May, the hottest May reading the region has ever seen. Badajoz crossed 38°C for the first time ever in May, too. The scarier number, though, is the death toll: Spain's Health Ministry recorded 101 heat-related deaths in May 2026, the highest for that month since records began in 2015.

Spain's weather agency, AEMET, has already issued yellow alerts again in June, with cities like Seville, Zaragoza, and Córdoba bracing for highs near 40°C. Tropical nights are expected too, giving people almost no relief. For July, models point to continued highs in the high 30s to 40°C range across the south and centre of the country.

3. United Kingdom: Records Falling, Infrastructure Struggling

The UK's numbers look smaller on paper, 35.1°C at Kew Gardens, but the impact has been just as serious. That reading broke the UK's all-time May record, smashing a mark that had stood since 1922, and it came earlier in the year than the country's previous hottest day had ever fallen. Camborne recorded a night that never dropped below 21.4°C, another record. At least 13 people died in water-related incidents as people tried to cool off.

The bigger issue is that British homes simply aren't built for heat. Only around 5% have air conditioning. Heading into July, the Met Office expects continental heat to keep pushing toward the UK, though the country sits right on the edge between that hot air and cooler, unsettled weather from the Atlantic, so things could swing either way.

Conclusion

2026 has shown Europe a kind of heat it usually doesn't see until peak summer, arriving as early as May. Portugal and Spain are leading with the highest actual temperatures, while the UK, France, and Italy are struggling because their cities and homes aren't built to handle this kind of heat.

The death tolls, the broken infrastructure, and the back-to-back broken records all point to the same thing: heatwaves are arriving earlier and hitting harder. As June rolls into July, forecasters expect the heat to stick around, especially across southern and western Europe, making this summer one to watch closely.