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Second warmest May ever: Europe is fighting drought!
Find out more about the extremely warm May 2025, its impact on Europe and the role of climate change.
Second warmest May ever: Europe is fighting drought!
In May 2025, the second warmest May since measurements began was recorded worldwide. According to the latest data from the EU climate change agency Copernicus, the average temperature this month was a remarkable 15.79 degrees Celsius. This was only 0.12 degrees below the record value set in May 2024 and 1.4 degrees above the estimated average for the years 1850 to 1900. These numbers illustrate the dramatic effects of climate change on global weather patterns.
What was particularly noticeable was the exceptional drought that prevailed in parts of northwest and central Europe. Northwestern Europe experienced the lowest rainfall and soil moisture levels since records began in 1979. This drought had a serious impact on spring runoff, which reached its lowest level in Europe since 1992. The detailed evaluation of this climate data is supported by billions of measurements taken from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations, as Stuttgarter Nachrichten reports.
Long-term trends and global warming
The changes in temperatures are not limited to a single month. Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that Europe has experienced a worrying trend in recent years. The summer of 2025 was the warmest on record, with temperatures averaging 0.7 degrees Celsius higher than those from 1991 to 2020. While the summer was wetter in Western and Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region suffered from marked drought.
These extreme weather conditions have far-reaching consequences for the environment. Rising temperatures are causing the glaciers in the Alps to melt, causing sediments containing potentially harmful substances such as uranium and nickel to enter the rivers. These changes also increase the risk of rock falls, endangering some high alpine hiking trails and requiring them to be temporarily closed.
The Copernicus service's climate data and associated analyses, dating back to the 1950s, are crucial to understanding the long-term effects of climate change and taking appropriate measures to mitigate this development. The focus must be on preserving our environment and adapting to these increasingly obvious climatic changes.