11 months · 11 summary articles
Europe’s weather map on Wednesday reads like a study in extremes: while Spain’s Guadalquivir valley braces for another day above 38 °C, Berlin and Brussels face thunderstorms, hail and gusts up to 70 km/h. The contrast underscores a continent caught between lingering heatwaves and sudden polar intrusions, a pattern scientists warn may become the continent’s new normal.
In Germany’s capital, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported scattered showers, lightning and wind gusts of 70 km/h across Berlin and Brandenburg . Forecasters at the Free University of Berlin expect the unsettled regime to persist through the weekend, with further thunder cells possible in Hesse and Bavaria .
Meanwhile, Spain’s national meteorological service (AEMET) confirmed that the Guadalquivir basin will again see maxima near 38 °C in Córdoba and Badajoz, while Barcelona and Valencia struggle to reach 25 °C under a stubborn high-pressure ridge . The agency also warned of tropical nights along the Mediterranean coast, where night-time lows will not dip below 20 °C.
Across the continent, national services issued weather alerts. Belgium’s Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM) placed much of Flanders under a yellow thunderstorm warning for Wednesday afternoon, forecasting hail and local downpours . Dutch broadcaster RTL reported similar warnings for eight Dutch provinces, with temperatures peaking at just 17 °C—well below seasonal norms .
The backdrop is a planet that just recorded its second-warmest May on record. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) calculated the global average surface air temperature for May 2026 at 1.42 °C above the 1850–1900 average, with land temperatures 0.55 °C above the 1991–2020 mean . Scientists link the volatility to a developing El Niño event, which is amplifying heat transport from the tropics into mid-latitudes and fuelling the sharp contrasts now visible across Europe .
Climate attribution studies suggest such “wild swings” are becoming more probable as the jet stream meanders under a warming Arctic. “What we are seeing is not a one-off anomaly but a preview of the new normal,” said Dr. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S . With the Atlantic hurricane season approaching and El Niño forecast to strengthen through summer, European capitals are bracing for further weather whiplash in the weeks ahead.
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