Extreme heat across Austria and much of Central and Southern Europe has surged roughly tenfold in just a few decades, according to a study published in Weather and Climate Extremes.
What's happening?
Gottfried Kirchengast, a climate scientist at Austria's University of Graz, led a team that built a new measurement framework for tracking how dangerous weather events are shifting. The system captures how often extreme events occur, how long they last, how intense they get, and how far they spread.
Drawing on temperature records spanning 1961 to 2024, the researchers set location-specific benchmarks for what qualifies as "extreme" heat. In Austria, that threshold sat around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit); across Spain's south, it topped 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit); and in Finland, it hovered near 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit).
When stacking 2010 through 2024 up against 1961 to 1990, the results were stark: The combined intensity of heat extremes grew about tenfold in Austria and across wide stretches of Central and Southern Europe.
"This massive increase in the total extremity metric goes far beyond its natural variability and shows the influence of human-made climate change with a clarity that even I as a climate researcher have never seen before," Kirchengast told Euronews, which called the model "groundbreaking."
The framework works for floods, droughts, and wildfires anywhere on the globe.
"If suitable long-term climate data are available, the development of climate hazard metrics for extremes of interest can be tracked year by year and decade by decade, in European countries and any other region worldwide," Kirchengast said.
Why is extreme heat in Europe concerning?
Blistering temperatures across Europe during summer 2025 killed thousands of people, Euronews reported.
Approximately 24,400 people died from heat exposure, and about 68% of those deaths were associated with human-driven warming. Thermometers hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) across wide stretches of Europe. Multiple countries went into drought.
That summer's immediate economic damage exceeded 43 billion euros ($50.8 billion). By 2029, total costs are expected to climb past 126 billion euros ($148.7 billion). Roughly one in four EU regions dealt with extreme heat, drought, or flooding during that stretch.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 What can be done about extreme heat?
One of the most promising parts of this new framework is its potential to hold major polluters accountable. The researchers say it can help calculate how much of a heat disaster is tied to human-driven warming, which could support legal efforts to push corporations and governments to pay for the damage they've caused.
On a personal level, switching to clean energy at home is one of the most effective steps you can take. Look into swapping gas-powered appliances for electric options, and contact your local representatives and voice your support for policies that speed up the shift from dirty energy.
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