Rwenzori Mountains’ first major fire in 12,000 years marked new era for climate

Penn State researcher who contributed to findings says effects of blaze continue to threaten rare pristine alpine environment

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Doctoral student Caleb Norville of Penn State and Meredith Parish of George Mason University return from collecting a core sample in a lake in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains. 

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Credit: Courtesy Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For the past several years, Penn State geoscientist Sarah Ivory and her students have been among a team of scientists scaling the East African Rwenzori Mountains, collecting sediment core samples from lakes formed at the end of the last ice age as glaciers began receding in the region some 12,000 years ago.

Among those cores was a surprising revelation: A 2012 wildfire that ravaged 16 square miles of the forest and alpine landscapes at more than 13,000 feet above sea level was unprecedented in at least the last 12,000 years. The researchers also found evidence in fossilized pollen that the fire significantly shifted the region’s ecology. Led by Andrea Mason, a doctoral candidate at Brown University, the team recently published these findings in the journal Nature.

The blaze in the alpine moorland surprised forest experts who assumed the climate was too cold and too wet for fires to start and to spread, Ivory said.

Within the cores, researchers looked at the remnants of charcoal to piece together the fire history of the area since the lakes originated. The cores show no fire activity for about 10,000 years. A slight increase in fire activity about 2,000 years ago — coinciding with an increase in human activity in the region — was recorded in a lower elevation lake. In 2012, the amount of charcoal in the cores shot up more than 100 times, aligning with the timing of the blaze at the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, at higher elevation. Researchers also assessed historic pollen records to determine there were dramatic shifts in the region’s ecology over the past 2,000 years as fire increased.

“The fact that this one fire in 2012 is the only fire that’s happened on this mountain for the entire existence of the lake is mind blowing,” Ivory said. “It’s like the image of a plastic bag in the Mariana Trench. We shouldn’t see human influence in an area that’s this remote, but it’s there.”

The team trekked the mountainside over a period of nearly two weeks, collecting sediment cores from two lakes: Lake Mahoma at about 9,000 feet and Lake Kopello in the alpine zone around 13,000 feet. Lake runoff and wind concentrated indicators into the soft underwater beds captured in the cores that tell us about past plants and climates on the mountain like pollen grains, leaf waxes, fossil bacteria and other biomarkers.

One goal of the project, Ivory said, was to help understand rapid changes to the low-lying village more than 10,000 feet below the Ugandan peaks. The Rwenzori Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Uganda, is home to the last remaining glacier that numbered in the dozens roughly 100 years ago. In that time, the region has lost more than 90% of its glacial ice.

In the village of Kilembe, deadly floods, landslides and mudslides have ravaged infrastructure, homes, farmland and livestock in recent years. In her research at large in Africa and parts of the Middle East, Ivory is assessing how warming since the last ice age has and continues to affect ecosystems. She and her students have been assisting with reforestation and forest mapping to combat the effects of climate change in the area.

The fire in the alpine region is another sign of change, Ivory said. Kilembe experienced massive flooding the year following the fire — which burned 18% of the catchment above the village. The unpredictability of the river that runs through the village continues to plague the community, Ivory said, with continued flooding that permanently knocked out power years ago.

“Whenever it rains, everything is disrupted,” Ivory said. “Flooding destroyed bridges and forced boulders into the river, making it difficult to rebuild what was there. It’s really transformed a community just downstream from the 2012 fire.”

Another key finding, Ivory said, was told through the pollen records analyzed at Penn State. The pollen revealed massive changes associated with early human fires as well as more recent fires driven by human-induced climate change to the ecology of the Rwenzori Mountains, one of the most unique and biodiverse mountainous regions on the planet. Much like isolated areas such as the Galapagos Islands offer a glimpse of evolutionary changes, this remote area of Uganda is a hot spot for ecological research and discovery, Ivory said.

The Rwenzori Mountains belong to a network of Afroalpine “sky islands,” isolated, high-altitude environments that support unique plant and animal life found nowhere else on Earth. Comparable systems, such as Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, have also seen recent wildfire activity, suggesting that rising temperatures may be altering ecosystems that were once naturally safeguarded by extreme alpine conditions.

Pollen records showed extensive changes in plant life, beginning around 2,000 years ago. This period coincides with an increase in human intervention and agricultural practices. At lower elevation, pollen associated with rainforest trees declined after the period when fires were detected, while pollen associated with bamboo and other grasses increased.

Since 2012, Ivory said, the slow growing mountainside trees have remained damaged and the forest is at risk of ecosystem transformation, especially if fires continue to persist.

“The Rwenzori Mountains have one of the most diverse and pristine expressions of this type of vegetation,” Ivory said. “Similar areas have a lot more disturbance and a lot more fire. Until recently, this was a holdout; it was one of the best examples of this special ecosystem and now that’s under threat.”

In addition to Ivory and Mason, co-authors include Meredith Kelly, Dartmouth College; Bob Nakileza, Makerere University; Eleanor Pereboom and James Russell, Brown University; and Richard Vachula, Auburn University.

---

Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-026-10511-w 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Twenty-first century emergence of alpine fire in Central African mountains

Meredith Parrish and Edson Kule, of Rwenzori Trekking Services, subsample a sediment core from a glacial lake in Uganda. 

  

This view from Bamwanjara Pass with view of Margarita Peak and its glacier in the distance is part of an isolated, high-altitude environments that support unique plant and animal life found nowhere else on Earth.

Credit

Courtesy of Penn State

 Why is Europe heating up faster than the rest of the world?

Europe is in the grip of an early-season heatwave, with record May temperatures driven by a “heat dome” of hot air over the western part of the continent. Scientists point to human-caused emissions, shifting atmospheric patterns and rapid Arctic warming as key factors amplifying extreme heat across the region.


Issued on:  27/05/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

Temperature records for May were broken in France and Britain. © Stephane de Sakutin, AFP

Europe, which is in the throes of a record-smashing heatwave this week, is the world's fastest-warming continent and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.

After record high temperatures for May were broken in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday and Tuesday, the continent still faces more brutal heat in the coming days.

A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.

Here is a look at why Europe is warming faster than elsewhere:

A higher degree

The planet is around 1.4C warmer than in preindustrial times, defined as 1850-1900.

By comparison, Europe is around 2.4 hotter than the preindustrial era, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

"Almost all of this heat is driven by the human-induced greenhouse effect from fossil fuel emissions, with the actual distribution of this excess heat determined by (several) factors," Ben Clarke, researcher in extreme weather and climate change at Imperial College London, told AFP.

Changing weather patterns

Shifts in atmospheric circulation have driven more frequent and more intense heatwaves in the European summer, according to Copernicus.

High-pressure systems, which bring settled weather and higher temperatures, have become more common in Europe, Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said.

"If you look over the last 20, 30 years, there has been a prevalence, especially in summer, of those sort of anticyclonic conditions that are making heatwaves more likely," Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo told AFP.

Whether the increased frequency of that specific type of high-pressure system is due to climate change or is just a "statistical fluctuation" is still a scientific debate, Buontempo said.

Such high-pressure systems are also known as "blocking highs" as they can remain stationary and stop other weather systems from moving into a region.

Explaining how they work, Mary Bourke, geography professor at Trinity College Dublin, told AFP: "The sky is exposed to us, there are no clouds. It's a stable mass of air that is bringing warm air down to the surface and taking away moist air, so the air is not only warm, but it's also dry."

Rapidly warming Arctic

Another major reason is geography.

"Europe is connected to the Arctic, which is warming much faster than the rest of the planet," Clarke said.

The Arctic is 3.2C warmer than in preindustrial times, according to Copernicus.

The region's rising temperatures are partly due to a process known as the albedo feedback.

Bright snow and ice reflect much of the sun's heat back into space, but as they melt they reveal darker, heat-absorbing surfaces such as land and the ocean.

"So as sea ice melts it leads to greater absorption of heat, which in turn further warms waters and melts more ice," Clarke said.

Melting snow

In other parts of Europe, the area where snow was very frequent in winter has shrunk, Buontempo said.

"We have many of the historical regions that had a week or more of freezing condition now, not having that. And this means exposing dark land rather than white snow," he said.

Falling air pollution

Stricter air quality regulations have reduced aerosol emissions since the 1980s.

But tackling the pollutant had the side effect of contributing to global warming, as these tiny airborne particles have a cooling effect by reflecting sunlight and making clouds more reflective.

"While a reduction in air pollution is hugely important for respiratory health, it also increases the solar radiation at the surface, as many types of particulate matter deflect sunlight," Clarke said.

Varying degrees

The rate of temperature change varies across Europe.

Eastern and southeastern Europe, and parts of central Europe including the Alps, have warmed by 0.5C-1C per decade over the last 30 years, according to Copernicus.

Western and southwestern Europe, and sub-Arctic Finland, Norway and Sweden, warmed by 0.2C-0.5C per decade.

Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago that is home to polar bears, has reached warming of 1.5C-2C per decade.

One of the fastest-warming places on Earth, Svalbard had record high summer temperatures from 2022 to 2024. Last year it saw its fourth warmest summer on record.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Record heat has ‘fingerprints of climate change all over it’. What can Europe expect this summer?

Copyright Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

By Liam Gilliver

Published on 27/05/2026 - EURONEWS

"The climate we are living in today is simply not the one we grew up with, and our buildings and infrastructure are woefully unprepared for what's next.”

Record May temperatures have sweltered huge parts of Europe, as countries remain trapped under a “powerful” heat dome – but experts warn the worst is yet to come.

France’s weather agency Météo France declared on Monday (25 May) that new monthly highs had been logged at more than 350 weather stations, with the highest temperature of 37.1°C registered near Hossegor, close to Biarritz. The intense heat has been linked to multiple deaths, and shows no signs of shifting.

The UK record for the hottest May day was also broken for a second consecutive day yesterday, as temperatures in parts of London surpassed a scorching 35°C.

According to weather forecaster WFY24, dozens of European capitals witnessed temperatures far above the climatological normal high for this time of year.

London faced the biggest anomaly, with temperatures exceeding 16°C above average May conditions, while Paris (+14°C), Berlin (+11°C), Lisbon (+10°C) and Madrid (+10°C) also faced exceptionally high temperatures. Even cooler regions like Oslo experienced balmy temperatures of 18°C, an additional 3°C from average temperatures for late May.

Is climate change behind Europe’s sweltering May temperatures?

While forecasters have blamed the sustained intense temperatures on a heat dome, which locks in extreme heat, the phenomenon itself is becoming more common due to human-caused global warming.

“This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it,” says Friederike Otto, a professor of Climate Science at Imperial College London.

“Temperatures on this scale were once exceptional even at the height of summer. Seeing 35°C in the UK during spring is absolutely astonishing, but the science is very clear – climate change makes these heatwaves hotter, longer and far more frequent.”

Related

• Can heat pumps cool down your home and how do they compare to air conditioning units?
• What is a heat dome? Why Europe is sweltering under record-breaking May temperatures

Otto warns that temperature records will continue until global emissions are cut and countries reach net zero.

“The climate we are living in today is simply not the one we grew up with, and our buildings and infrastructure are woefully unprepared for what's next,” she adds.“While we have made some progress in cutting emissions, it is not fast enough.”

Which countries will be hit hardest by rising temperatures in 2026?

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predict that summer 2026 will likely be influenced by a “relatively weak atmospheric pressure pattern”.

This can heavily impact temperature by limiting winds, which often leads to stagnant, hot days.

Seasonal temperature is likely to be above average in all regions this summer, with the most confident signal over southeastern parts of the continent – while C3S also points to below-average rainfall in eastern parts of Europe.

Ioanna Vergini, founder of world weather forecast WFY24, tells Euronews Earth that Europe should brace for “compound heat-and-drought in the south, a wildfire arc from Portugal to Greece, followed by flash-floods in autumn.”

For every 1℃ rise in air temperature, the atmosphere can hold around seven per cent more moisture, which can lead to more intense and heavy rainfall.

“Southern Europe remains the most vulnerable hotspot, but central and eastern Europe are warming the fastest and they’re the least adapted to 35°C+ days they now face routinely,” Vergini says. “Cities are where people die.”

Infrastructure such as concrete and asphalt absorbs heat, which keeps outdoor temperatures high, especially in cities. This is known as the urban heat island effect.

How can Europeans deal with extreme heat this summer?

European cities are quickly addressing the need to protect citizens from heat stress. Spain, for example, is home to the world’s most extensive network of climate shelters – providing access to public buildings that have free seating, water and air conditioning.

In Barcelona alone, there are already 400 climate shelters in public buildings such as libraries, museums, sports centres and shopping malls. Other cities are catching onto the incentive, with the General Council of Bucharest approving the establishment of climate shelters earlier this month.

Cities like Paris have also been preparing for rising temperatures for decades, making efforts to turn heat-trapping streets into a “green oasis”. Since 2020, more than 6,000 parking spaces and 1.3 hectares of asphalt have been removed to enable the streets to be greened.

By 2024, there were almost 100 Parisian streets with planters, allowing nature to thrive alongside urban life. Trees and plants improve air quality, creating an added benefit for polluted cities.

More than 100,000 trees have been planted in Paris since 2020 to provide more shade for residents and increase the absorption of heat-trapping gases.

“Know your country’s heat warnings, check on elderly neighbours and don’t trust the night to cool off,” Vergini adds.

“Tropical nights (where the temperature never drops below 25°C) are now routine in southern Europe and compound the daytime stress on the body.”

The expert urges authorities to stop treating heat planning as “reactive” and make sure measurements are scheduled. “Seasonal forecasts give multi-month lead time, what’s missing is the operational use of it,” she says.

Temperatures soar across Europe as 'heat dome' drives May records


A “heat dome” is driving unusually high temperatures across Europe, pushing readings well above seasonal norms. The UK and France have already set May records while Spain and Italy are facing heat alerts and limits on outdoor work. Scientists say climate change is making these kinds of extreme heat events more common.


Issued on: 27/05/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

A woman shields herself from the sun with an umbrella during a heatwave in London, Britain, May 26, 2026. © Jack Taylor, Reuters

Forecasters in Europe warned Tuesday of exceptional heat as record temperatures driven by a "heat dome" push temperatures well above seasonal norms across the continent.

The surge follows a record-breaking Monday, with France logging its hottest day in the month of May on record, according to its weather agency, and the United Kingdom also posting unprecedented highs.

A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer.

Restrictions on outdoor work were imposed in parts of Italy, beaches in southwest France filled earlier than usual and farmers reported accelerated harvests as temperatures went beyond 30C across the region.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with Europe warming faster than the global average and heatwaves growing more frequent and severe.

Temperatures in Spain were expected to peak later this week at 38C, while parts of Italy imposed restrictions on working outdoors.

In the United Kingdom, the Met Office weather agency said Monday was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8C at Kew Gardens, southwest London, a full two degrees above the previous high.

"This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May," it said on X.

"The weather here, it's like a mini version of hell. It's boiling. It's like really hot," said 10-year-old Liza Nizari on a visit to London, where temperatures normally average about 17C or 18C at this time of year.

The Met Office forecast a drop later in the week.

Lindy Brand-Daloze, a 66-year-old Australian living in London for 12 years, said: "It's warm, but it's climate change, isn't it? So, you know, (we have) probably got to get used to this."

Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods more intense, resulting in temperature records being broken more frequently.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told AFP the increase in extreme temperatures was "a good indication of climate change in action" and more likely to become "the new norm".

Climate advisers last week warned the UK government that the country was "built for a climate that no longer exists" and urged it to adapt infrastructure like schools and hospitals for a warming planet.

In 2022, temperatures in the UK soared above 40C for the first time since records began.

A record May temperature of 28.8C was recorded at two weather stations in Ireland: Killarney in the southwest and Clonmel in the south, Met Eireann data showed.

A grass fire broke out near Arthur's Seat hill near Edinburgh, sending smoke over the Scottish city that saw temperatures climb to 25C, according to fire fighters and the BBC.

Heatwave alert

Across the Channel, weather agency Meteo-France said that for France as a whole, "Monday was the hottest day recorded for the month of May since measurements began".

It said highs of 33C to 36C in regions were expected, adding that the spell was likely to last at least until the end of the week.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was to hold a meeting Thursday with key ministers to go over government preparations for the heatwave.

The capital, Paris, on Saturday notched up its first temperature above 30C of the year, hitting 31.9C.

On Sunday, a man died during a 10-kilometre running race in Paris, civil defence services said, while 10 more had to be taken to hospital in critical condition after a race in the capital's suburb of Maisons-Alfort, the authorities said.

The sweltering heat on Monday melted tennis fans at Roland-Garros in Paris.

Outdoor work restricted

In Spain, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warned the "extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year" will continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa.

"Widespread tropical nights" are also forecast in southwestern Spain from Wednesday, with temperatures peaking from Wednesday to Friday at between 36C and 38C, it wrote on X.

Farther east, Italy's Lazio region, which includes Rome, on Monday approved rules limiting work in conditions "with prolonged exposure in the sun" between 12:30pm and 4pm.

The measures apply, for example, to farms, construction sites and in the logistics sector and apply until September 15.

Similar rules had been put in place last year but only from May 30.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Heat dome over Europe scorches UK, Ireland, France and Spain

London (AFP) – Temperatures hit record highs for May in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week.


Issued on: 25/05/2026 - FRANCE24

Britain recorded its highest ever May temperature on Monday © Adrian DENNIS / AFP



A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer.

Temperatures in Spain were expected to peak later this week at 38C, while parts of Italy imposed restrictions on working outdoors.

In the United Kingdom, the Met Office weather agency said it was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8C at Kew Gardens, southwest London -- a full two degrees above the previous high.

"This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May," it said on X.

"The weather here, it's like a mini version of hell. It's boiling. It's like really hot," said 10-year-old Liza Nizari on a visit to London, where temperatures normally average about 17C or 18C at this time of year.

Lindy Brand-Daloze, a 66-year-old Australian living in London for 12 years, said: "It's warm, but it's climate change, isn't it? So, you know, (we have) probably got to get used to this."

Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods more intense, resulting in temperature records being broken more frequently.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told AFP the increase in extreme temperatures was "a good indication of climate change in action" and more likely to become "the new norm".

Climate advisers last week warned the UK government that the country was "built for a climate that no longer exists" and urged it to adapt infrastructure like schools and hospitals for a warming planet.

In 2022, temperatures in the UK soared above 40C for the first time since records began.

A record May temperature of 28.8C was recorded at two weather stations in Ireland: Killarney in the southwest and Clonmel in the south, Met Eireann data showed.

A grass fire broke out near Arthur's Seat hill near Edingburgh, sending smoke over the Scottish city that saw temperatures climbe to 25C, according to fire fighters and the BBC.
Heatwave alert

Across the Channel, weather agency Meteo-France said "dozens" of temperature records were broken in several French cities, as it placed eight western regions under a heatwave alert.

The exceptionally high temperatures were expected to last until the weekend.

On Monday, the western town of Bergerac recorded a high of 34.7C, with the cities of Nantes and Angers not far behind.

On Tuesday, heat of between 32C and 35C was expected across much of the western region of Brittany, "with peaks of 36C or even 37C expected in the south of the country", Meteo-France said.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was to hold a meeting Thursday with key ministers to go over government preparations for the heatwave.

Brittany in northwest France is one of eight areas put under heatwave alert © Sebastien Salom-Gomis / AFP


The capital, Paris, on Saturday notched up its first temperature above 30C of the year, hitting 31.9C.

On Sunday, a man died during a 10-kilometre running race in Paris, civil defence services said, while 10 more had to be taken to hospital in critical condition after a race in the capital's suburb of Maisons-Alfort, the authorities said.

The sweltering heat on Monday melted tennis fans at Roland-Garros in Paris.

Loick Labrousse, whose nose was daubed with sunblock, took refuge in a coffee stand.

"The sun is brutal right on top of the centre court," he said. "After two hours, it starts to get really intense".

Outdoor work restricted

In Spain, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warned the "extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year" will continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa.

"Widespread tropical nights" are also forecast in southwestern Spain from Wednesday, with temperatures peaking from Wednesday to Friday at between 36C and 38C, it wrote on X.

Farther east, Italy's Lazio region, which includes Rome, on Monday approved rules limiting work in conditions "with prolonged exposure in the sun" between 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm.

Similar rules had been put in place last year but only from May 30.

burs-phz/ach-yad/

© 2026 AFP

France swelters as first-ever May heatwave alert issued


France experienced record high temperatures for May over the weekend, according to the country’s national weather service, with Paris recording this year's first temperature above 30C on Saturday. A spokesperson for Meteo France added that a yellow heatwave alert issued Sunday was the very first “to be issued in May since the system was created in 2004".


Issued on: 25/05/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24

A thermometer shows a very high temperature in Rennes on June 11, 2025. 

© Damien Meyer, AFP
02:06




France faced unusually hot weather on Monday, the national weather service said, after enduring record high temperatures for a month of May at the weekend.

In the northwestern city of Rennes, 74-year-old Daniele Dupont tried to stick to the shade as she walked her dog in 27C on Monday morning

"I'm going to close the shutters. I won't be going out this afternoon," she said in the capital of the Brittany region, across the Channel from the United Kingdom.

Parts of Brittany were under a so-called yellow heatwave alert, urging caution, for a second day on Monday.

A Meteo France spokeswoman said that the warning first issued for Sunday was "the first yellow heatwave alert to be issued in May since the system was created in 2004".

On Sunday "record high maximum temperatures for the month of May" were felt in at least 10 locations, including the northwestern seaside towns of Lorient and Noirmoutier, Meteo France said.

Paris on Saturday notched up its first temperature above 30C of the year, hitting 31.9C.

A man died during a 10km running race in Paris on Sunday, civil defence services said. Local newspaper Le Parisien reported he was 53 years old and suffered a heart attack.

Ten more runners had to be taken to hospital in critical condition after a race in the capital's suburb of Maisons-Alfort, the authorities said.

In Rennes, Bernard Siffert, 66, wasn't taking any chances.

"I went for a run yesterday and did 15km at 7am instead of 10am like I usually do," he said.

© France 24
01:56

Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that these heatwaves are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Hottest May day ever recorded in UK as London hits 34.8 degrees

25.05.2026, 

Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire/dpa

London (PA Media/dpa) -The UK has recorded its all-time hottest meteorological spring temperature as part of London hit 34.8 degrees Celcius.

The provisional reading at Kew Gardens, south-west London, broke the highest May temperature that, until Monday, stood at 32.8 degrees reached in 1922 and 1944, the Met Office said at around 5 pm (1600 GMT).

Temperature records are usually broken by just tenths of a degree.

It is also 10  to 15 degrees hotter than average for much of the UK, the forecasters’ senior meteorologist Greg Dewhurst reported.

If validated, the latest record means seven of the 12 monthly highs have been set since 2003, the Met Office said.

It listed 12 locations where the record was topped on Monday, ranging from Suffolk to Berkshire to Warwickshire.

A previous study by the forecasters found breaking that record “is around three times more likely now in our current climate than it would have been in a natural climate not impacted by greenhouse gas emissions.”

This means that the once one-in-a-hundred year event is now a one-in-33 event, it said.

Parts of central and southern England face further forecasts of up to 36 degrees on Tuesday as heatwaves continue.

It comes after last week saw lows of minus 5 degrees in Scotland and daytime temperatures more widely peaked at about 14 degrees to 15 degrees.

“We see these changes happening so much more dramatically,” Dewhurst said on Monday morning, adding that climate change is boosting the heat.

“In the past, heatwaves built and built and built and built over days and days and days – these now just develop so quickly.

“It’s huge sort of swinging temperatures, and obviously records being broken by day and by night, so it just shows sort of how extreme the weather can change, and how quickly it can change, as well.”

As a result of climate change, all meteorological models are predicting “more extreme heat, more extreme weather events” and “hotter, drier summers – wetter, windier winters”, he added.

Amid the bank holiday weekend heat, South East Water apologised and handed out bottled water after about 502 of its customers had issues including outages and low pressure.

Meanwhile, fire and smoke spread across a large patch of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, above St Anthony’s  degreeshapel on Monday.

Wales also provisionally beat its May record as Hawarden Airport reached 32.2 degrees, with the previous peak measured at 30.6 degrees in 1944.

The UK’s warmest May night was also recorded on Sunday when temperatures did not fall below 19.4 degrees at Kenley Airfield, Surrey.

The month’s previous record low was 18.9 degrees in 1944.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Why is Europe heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet?

Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since 1980, a new report shows, with 2025 marked by extended heatwaves across the continent, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. RFI examines the reasons why.


Issued on: 02/05/2026 - RFI

 

A woman tries to put out a wildfire in Santa Baia De Montes, northwestern Spain, 14 August, 2025. AP - Lalo R. Villar

The European State of the Climate report, published by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), shows last year was the third warmest on record.

The average air temperature was 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels – close behind 2024, which saw an average increase of 1.6°C, and 2023.

Europe (extending to Turkey and parts of Russia) has been warming twice as fast as the global average since 1980, at a rate of +0.56°C per decade since 1996 compared to +0.27°C.

In comparison, Africa is warming at an average of 0.36°C, Asia 0.46°C, North America 0.42°C, and Central and South America 0.27°C.

WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo noted that 2025 was marked by long heatwaves from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle which were becoming "more frequent and severe".

Arctic region

Four factors contribute to explaining this phenomenon in Europe, the first of them geographical.

Samantha Burgess, strategic climate leader at the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), said: "Europe includes part of the Arctic region. And the Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average."

This, she explained, pulls the average upwards, as the polar region has warmed by 0.75°C per decade.

Fennoscandia, the region encompassing Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia's Kola Peninsula, experienced 21 out of 30 days in July with temperatures exceeding 10.2°C.

This was unprecedented in its severity, the duration – the previous record was 11 days – and the geographical extent.

Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to the European State of the Climate report. © C3S/ECMWF


"Generally speaking, most of this region experiences up to two days of intense heat per year, where the perceived temperature reaches 32 degrees or higher," Burgess explained.

A peak of 34.9°C was recorded on 17 July in Frosta, Norway, just below the Arctic Circle.

"Changes in atmospheric circulation are contributing to heat waves. These are becoming more frequent and intense, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle," she added, saying that three consecutive weeks of severe heat stress in the Fennoscandia region "highlights the impact of climate change".

In July 2025, Fennoscandia experienced its longest and most intense heat wave. © DWD/C3S/ECMWF/Met Norway

Shrinking snow cover

The third reason for Europe's rapid heating may seem contradictory: the reduction of air pollution.

"We have fewer air pollutants or aerosols," said Burgess. "These aerosols form clouds that act like a mirror: they prevent solar energy from reaching the earth. Now that we have improved air quality, the albedo – the reflectivity of clouds – is reduced. We therefore receive more solar radiation."

The fourth factor stems from the same principle: the decrease in snow cover in Europe.

By March 2025, this cover had decreased by 30 percent compared to the 1991-2020 average – the third lowest snow cover on record. This shrinkage also reduces albedo, the reflectivity of white surfaces.

Shrub studies show Alps suffering disastrous decline in snow cover

With less snow and more dark rock to absorb more energy, the Alpine regions of Europe are warming faster than the continental average.

Furthermore, the melting of glaciers, both in the mountains and on the polar ice caps, is accelerating.

Greenland lost 139 gigatonnes of ice in a single year, the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools, while Iceland lost the second largest ice mass in its history.

A boat crosses a frozen sea inlet outside of Nuuk, Greenland, 6 March, 2025 

AP - Evgeniy Maloletka


While this melting contributes to rising sea levels, rising sea temperatures are also an issue – 86 percent of European waters experienced at least one severe marine heatwave in 2025.

For the Atlantic Ocean, it marked the fourth consecutive year of record temperatures. For the Mediterranean, it was the second hottest year on record, just behind 2024.

From rain to fires

Europe experienced multiple extreme weather events in 2025, from storms and floods to drought and wildfires.

Storm Eowyn, which hit Ireland, the United Kingdom and Norway in January last year, was classified by the UK Met Office as the most powerful storm to hit the country in more than a decade.

Over the summer, fires scorched a record 1 million hectares of European land, a large number of them in northern countries such as the Netherlands, England and Germany.

"The fire season started exceptionally early," said Burgess, as early as February in the UK and Ireland.

She added that Portugal and Spain experienced an extremely wet spring, with multiple storms and floods causing regional vegetation to grow very rapidly.

This period was then followed by heat waves.

Spain endured a record of more than 50 days with temperatures exceeding 32°C in 2025. The southern regions of both countries experienced six days of temperatures exceeding 46°C.

The abundant vegetation dried, creating ideal conditions for large fires – 65 percent of the area burned in Europe last year was in these two countries.

Last year was marked by mega-fires in southern Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal. © EFFIS/CEMS/C3S/ECMWF


"Portugal is located in the part of Europe most severely affected by climate change," Burgess noted.

"[It] could be considered an example of how climate change is already having serious effects in southern Europe, particularly due to extreme heat, drought and forest fires. This situation reflects trends across the Mediterranean region, rather than isolated national anomalies."

Carlo Buontempo, director of the C3S service, said the risks, scale and duration of wildfires are increasing.

"That’s where we need to build resilience," he said, citing measures such as clearing brush, protecting national parks and the need for firebreaks to prevent the fire from spreading.

Last year was the third driest for European soils since 1992, and ranks among the top 10 driest of the last 50 years. In May, a third of the continent suffered from extreme agricultural drought.

Average annual rainfall was 10 to 40 percent lower in northwestern and eastern Europe. Approximately 70 percent of rivers had a flow rate below the 1992-2020 average.

Carbon sinks

Last year also saw massive loss of Europe's peatlands – wetlands covered with dense, low-lying vegetation. Falling groundwater levels dry out the peat, making the area highly flammable.

"Fires can spread rapidly and, above all, smoulder underground for weeks or even months, making them very, very difficult to extinguish," said Claire Scannell, an Irish meteorologist.

These ecosystems are vitally important for their role as carbon sinks, while their degradation transforms them into sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

A seagrass meadow close to the beach of Falckenstein, near Kiel, Germany. REUTERS - LISI NIESNER

Meanwhile, biodiversity is also suffering in the sea, according to the Copernicus report.

Mediterranean Posidonia seagrass meadows – underwater meadows that extend over nearly 20,000 km² along the coast – are particularly under threat.

"These seagrass meadows are biodiversity hotspots that shelter thousands of fish and provide essential nursery habitats," Scannell explained.

"They protect coastlines from erosion and storm surges. Furthermore, they act as carbon sinks and can store carbon up to 30 times faster than a tropical rainforest. However, over the past 50 years, these meadows have declined by 34 percent, due in part to climate change."

Despite conservation measures being implemented, the report found that: "Europe is not on track to meet most of the objectives of its Biodiversity Strategy. Protected areas are increasing, but the total remains below 20 percent. Bioindicator species, including pollinators and birds, continue to decline."

The renewables path

In a bid to move towards clean energy sources, 14 of the 27 EU member states now generate more electricity from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

Across much of the continent, the increased amount of sunshine has translated into above-average solar energy production. However, the outlook for hydroelectric energy is less favourable.

Solar power overtakes nuclear and wind to lead EU energy mix for the first time

Flow rates in the European river network were below average for 11 out of 12 months of 2025, putting pressure on energy infrastructure.

"Hydropower, as a form of renewable energy, is one of the sectors most closely linked to climate. We must therefore prepare for increased pressure during peak demand periods. We saw this a few years ago with the drought in northern Italy," said Buontempo.

The European Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change is expected in the second half of 2026.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French by Géraud Bosman-Delzons.

 

Challenging the urban-rural divide in ecology

Framework focuses on need for connectivity to inform urban planning, sustainability, and human well-being

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

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Instead of thinking of urban and rural as binary, the new ‘Continuum of Urbanity’ adds a third dimension (wildness) and room for mixture, so that urban planners and researchers can better understand and help the neighborhoods they work in. 

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Credit: Credit: Pickett et al./npj Urban Sustainability 2026

As cities sprawl into suburbs and exurbs, the distinction between urban areas and the countryside has become increasingly blurry. A new paper published in npj Urban Sustainability proposes that many modern landscapes can be managed more holistically when they are understood as a mixture of urban, rural, and wild features.

“There used to be a clear boundary between cities relative to the countryside and the wild, but that has been changing for a long time,” says lead author Steward Pickett, an urban ecologist and scientist emeritus at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. “You can’t just walk in a straight line from a city center and define where the ‘urban’ ends.”

Pickett and coauthors put forth a new framework that emphasizes the many connections among urban, rural, and wild places that can create a blend of these features in a given area. 

“It’s like patchwork or a mosaic,” explains Pickett. “You can have a place that's 70% urban and 30% rural right next to a place that's the opposite, or has some wild mixed in.” He and his coauthors hope this new way of thinking, which they have dubbed the “continuum of urbanity,” helps urban ecologists, planners, and city managers better understand how these areas function and what matters most to residents. The continuum may also be useful to policy experts, engineers, decision makers, and activists.

The paper grew out of a Cary Conference in 2021 and includes four Cary coauthors: Winslow Hansen, Shannon LaDeau, Christopher Solomon, and Elizabeth Cook. Funding came from the National Science Foundation and Cary Institute’s Science Innovation Funds. 

Connections and mixtures are everywhere

Traditional thinking separates urban and rural (or ‘natural’) spaces, as well as the research fields that study them. In place of this black and white dichotomy, the new framework offers a middle ground with many shades of gray. 

The blending of urban, rural, and wild is everywhere once you know how to look for it, says Pickett. Wild animals such as coyotes and even bears sometimes turn up in towns and cities. Rural influence can be seen in community gardens or a tomato plant growing on a fire escape. There are urban influences in rural areas, too, reflected in the types of jobs people perform and the entertainment they consume.

The paper explores how these dynamics play out in the Mid-Hudson Valley as an example. This region of upstate New York is composed of small cities, towns, farms, and forests. It is physically connected to New York City by the Hudson River, several highways, railways, and more. This connectivity lets people, money, and culture flow between the two locations. For example, asylum seekers (some bused to New York City from southern states) have been housed in hotels in the Mid-Hudson Valley. The COVID-19 pandemic sent many New Yorkers into the Hudson Valley, driving up property prices and threatening to increase development on recently reforested land. The growth of online shopping, intensified by COVID-19, has changed livelihoods and locations in the Mid-Hudson Valley through novel employment opportunities, conversion of land to warehouses and large distribution centers, and the road infrastructure and associated truck traffic to serve them. In another example, the paper shares how, in suburban landscapes, connecting previously fragmented forests has facilitated the spread of blacklegged ticks and Lyme disease.

Global-scale connections can link distant places, too, such as the accidental introduction, via international trade, of forest pests like the emerald ash borer and the spotted lanternfly that are harming Hudson Valley forests. Similarly, the demand for beef in the Hudson Valley can incentivize deforestation for cattle grazing in the Amazon. And as climate change causes more droughts, floods, and fires across New York City and the Hudson Valley, it may continue to reshape the distribution of homes and businesses and the flow of ideas between the region’s urban, rural, and wild places. 

“The message of the Mid-Hudson River Valley case is that familiar urban and rural features are tightly linked,” the authors write in the paper. “One cannot be understood without the other, nor can policies, plans, and interventions neglect the entanglement of the seemingly discrete urban and rural human ecosystem characteristics.”

From theory to practice

The authors outline four main areas of life where urban, rural, and wild influence could potentially be measured:

• Livelihood: How do people in this community support themselves? People who own or work on farms, for example, will likely experience more rural influence. Urban livelihoods can become part of rural places — for example, when remote workers in the financial sector bring urban resources and expectations to seemingly rural locations.

• Lifestyle: How do people identify socially? Who do they consider part of their community? This can be linked to the kinds of houses they live in or the cars they drive, says Pickett. “If you are a farmer who owns a truck and a Mercedes, the Mercedes is something that expresses your social status and connects you with wealthy people way beyond the farm.”

• Connectivity: How are different parts of the region connected, and how well are they connected? Connectivity goes beyond physical infrastructure. For example, Pickett explains, people living on farms in South Africa may be supported by money flowing from family members working in big cities in South Africa or even the US or Europe.

• Location: The specific geography where livelihood, lifestyle, and connectivity interact.

How the continuum of urbanity can help 

“We hope that the continuum of urbanity encourages people to slow down and think before they design, build, or renovate,” says Pickett. “For example, someone might want to coordinate the traffic lights to reduce traffic and gasoline consumption. That's all well and good, but if you only design your city for efficiency, you're likely to neglect some of the amenities people need for a pleasant, healthy life. Our framework slows you down and makes you ask, ‘How's this going to affect how people live, or where they can recreate, or how they can build social relationships?’ If your profession is an urban ecologist or an urban designer, an urban planner, or a city manager, you have to be aware of all of these components.”

Coauthor and Cary ecologist Shannon LaDeau said she is already incorporating the continuum of urbanity in Defining Urban Biodiversity, a project she co-leads with Scenic Hudson that seeks to understand how changing green spaces in three Hudson Valley cities impacts plants, animals, and people. “The ideas in the paper inform how I think about the urban matrix that links our study sites to each other, to New York City, as well as to ecosystems of the Hudson River and Catskills,” she said.

Coauthor Robert Freudenberg, vice president of energy and environmental programs at the Regional Plan Association, said the Continuum of Urbanity approach is helping him move away from oversimplistic categorizations of land and community, to better consider the complex mixtures in the places where he works, especially when planning for climate change.  

“The concept provides an extraordinary framework for considering how climate impacts are manifesting within the natural systems that bind the region together,” said Freudenberg. “If we are going to plan and manage our way to adapt to climate change, and hopefully avoid its very worst impacts, understanding the ecological interactions that branch across our developed places will be essential.”

Cary’s Winslow Hansen, coauthor and director of a large collaborative that seeks to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires in the western US, says the continuum of urbanity helps him see an important part of his work in a new way. 

“In my current area of work, we think about the wildland urban interface as a distinct boundary between human communities and wild areas as the epicenter of fire risk,” says Hansen. “But if you instead embrace a continuum of urbanity, then risk mitigation from fire could become more nuanced, tailored to local ecological and social conditions rather than viewing the world as clearly categorized into one or the other.”

There remains much work to do to refine the continuum of urbanity and figure out how to measure the three dimensions. However, the authors hope that the new concept will change the way people think about communities, guiding more thoughtful research and helpful interventions. 

Funding

This publication was funded by the US National Science Foundation, the National Science Foundation of China, and the Science Innovation Funds of Cary Institute.

 

Authors

Steward T. A. Pickett - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies 

Weiqi Zhou - Chinese Academy of Sciences

Daniel L. Childers - Arizona State University

J. Morgan Grove - Yale School of the Environment

Winslow D. Hansen - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Dexter H. Locke - USDA Forest Service

Christopher Boone - University of Southern California

Karen C. Seto - Yale School of the Environment

Dawa Zhaxi - Chinese Academy of Sciences

Shannon LaDeau - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Leonard Nevarez - Vassar College

Robert Freudenberg - Regional Plan Association

Christopher T. Solomon - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Elizabeth M.Cook - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Barnard College

Russell Urban-Mead - LaBella Associates

David Maddox - The Nature of Cities

Adam R. Bosch - Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress

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Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is an independent nonprofit center for environmental research. Since 1983, our scientists have been investigating the complex interactions that govern the natural world and the impacts of climate change on these systems. Our findings lead to more effective resource management, policy actions, and environmental literacy. Staff are global experts in the ecology of:  forests, freshwater, soils, cities, and disease.

 

 

 

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Journal

npj Urban Sustainability

DOI

10.1038/s42949-026-00347-8 

Article Title

The continuum of urbanity: a synthetic concept for research on urban-rural mixtures