Climate variability linked to exceptional heatwaves and cold spells?
In the summer of 2025, Europe and South America experienced unprecedented extreme weather conditions, and the connection between these events and human-driven global warming is becoming increasingly clear.
In western Europe, June was the hottest on record, breaking temperature records set just a year earlier. The heatwave that swept through Europe in late June and early July reached temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius, with large parts of southern Europe experiencing an unusually high number of "tropical nights" - where temperatures remain above 20° C.
The intense heatwaves in Europe have been exacerbated by climate change, according to climate scientists. The burning of fossil fuels is estimated to have increased temperatures in the heatwave by up to 4C across 12 European cities, leading to an additional 1,500 heat-related deaths. A rapid study led by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Tropical Medicine suggests that climate change has tripled the number of heat-related deaths during the recent European heatwave.
Meanwhile, in southern Europe, prolonged heatwaves have led to vast wildfires. These fires have affected an area nearly triple the size burned in 2024, with drought conditions and high heat turning landscapes into fire hazards. Scientists attribute these severe heat and fire conditions to human-induced climate change driving more frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts.
In South America, intense heavy rainfall and flooding have caused widespread damage, including landslides. These events align with shifting rainfall patterns where climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events.
The extreme heatwaves in southern Europe are linked to a combination of a massive anticyclonic blocking pattern trapping hot air masses from Africa and underlying warming of the atmosphere caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other hand, a polar cold wave affected Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. On the last day of June, both Chile and Argentina ranked as the coldest places on earth outside the polar regions. The cold snap in southern South America was due to a powerful polar-origin anticyclone.
Snow blanketed the Atacama Desert, known as the driest place on earth outside of the poles, for the first time in a decade. This event is also linked to the shifting climate patterns caused by global warming.
In conclusion, the recent extreme weather events in Europe and South America are consistent with the predicted impacts of climate change: increased heatwaves, exacerbated droughts and wildfires in Europe, and amplified flooding and rainfall extremes in parts of South America. Scientific experts and climate attribution studies confirm human-driven global warming is a key factor elevating the frequency and severity of these events. The IPCC warns that it's going to carry on getting worse until we phase out fossil fuels and reach net zero.
- The severe heatwaves and wildfires in western Europe during the summer of 2025 have been linked to human-induced climate change by climate scientists.
- Climate change is estimated to have added up to 4 degrees Celsius to temperatures during the European heatwave in 2025, causing an additional 1,500 heat-related deaths.
- Prolonged heatwaves in southern Europe triggered vast wildfires affecting an area nearly triple the size burned in 2024, a result of drought conditions and high heat caused by global warming.
- South America experiencing intense heavy rainfall and flooding in the summer of 2025 is consistent with the increased frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events caused by climate change.
- The recent extreme weather events in the world, such as the heatwaves in Europe and flooding in South America, are consistent with the predicted impacts of climate change, and scientific experts confirm human-driven global warming is a key factor.
- The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warns that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events will continue to escalate until there is a global effort to phase out fossil fuels and achieve net zero emissions.
- In contrast to the heatwave in Europe, a polar cold wave affected Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay during the summer of 2025, even causing snowfall in the Atacama Desert, known as the driest place on earth outside of the poles, which is also linked to the shifting climate patterns caused by global warming.
