Turquoise waters surround the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia

Marine heatwave conditions have been affecting the western Mediterranean Sea and parts of the north-eastern Atlantic through the summer of 2026, and unusually warm sea surface temperatures remained widespread on 13 August 2026. 

On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse crossed the Arctic Ocean, eastern Greenland, western Iceland, and the northern half of Spain. The area covered by the full eclipse was at most 294 kilometres wide, and the high Arctic remained outside of it, under the far broader partial shadow.

Cyanobacteria blooms return to the Baltic Sea every summer, when warm water, light winds, and nutrients carried in from land cause this type of algae to multiply. On 11 August, health authorities in Rostock, Germany, issued an alert for the presence of the algae along the coast and advised against bathing.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has published its latest monthly Climate Bulletin, focusing on key climate trends in July 2026.  July 2026 was the second warmest July on record in western Europe.

A severe drought has been affecting large parts of France this summer. According to the European Drought Observatory (EDO), more than 85% of the country was under drought warning or alert conditions in mid-July 2026, compared with around 65% at the same time in 2025, and less than 2% in 2024, a summer without widespread drought.