World sees second-hottest May on record as Europe faces rising drought concerns

Published on 11/06/2025 - 12:30 GMT+2

This May was nan world’s 2nd warmest ever recorded, exceeded only by May 2024, according to nan EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), bringing unusually barren conditions to northwestern Europe.

Data shows that nan world mean aboveground aerial somesthesia was 15.79ºC past month, 0.53ºC higher than nan 1991 to 2020 average.

May was an estimated 1.4ºC supra nan mean for 1850 to 1900 - nan play utilized to specify nan pre-industrial average. It interrupts a sweltering stretch wherever 21 retired of 22 months breached this 1.5ºC threshold, though EU scientists opportunity this is improbable to last.

“May 2025 breaks an unprecedentedly agelong series of months complete 1.5ºC supra pre-industrial,” says Carlo Buontempo, head of C3S astatine ECMWF.

Whether aliases not nan world breaches nan Paris Agreement target of keeping world warming beneath 1.5ºC is measured complete decades, not azygous months, meaning it has not technically been passed.

“Whilst this whitethorn connection a little respite for nan planet, we do expect nan 1.5ºC period to beryllium exceeded again successful nan adjacent early owed to nan continued warming of nan ambiance system,” Buontempo adds.

Dry outpouring brings drought concerns successful Europe

High temperatures person been paired pinch barren upwind crossed overmuch of nan world complete nan past fewer months.

In Europe, May brought drier than mean conditions to overmuch of bluish and cardinal Europe arsenic good arsenic confederate regions of Russia, Ukraine, and Türkiye.

This outpouring has been a opposition betwixt drier-than-average conditions successful nan northbound and westbound and wetter-than-average conditions crossed nan southbound and northwestern Russia.

Parts of northwestern Europe saw their lowest precipitation and ungraded moisture levels since astatine slightest 1979. And persistent barren conditions person led to nan lowest outpouring stream travel crossed Europe since records began successful 1992.

More than half of nan onshore successful Europe and nan Mediterranean basin faced immoderate shape of drought from 11 to 20 May, according to information from nan European Drought Observatory. That is nan highest level recorded for that play of clip successful nan twelvemonth since monitoring began successful 2012.

Farmers crossed bluish Europe person voiced fears for their crops, pinch unusually barren upwind delaying nan sprouting of wheat and corn. In nan UK, nan National Farmers’ Union warned successful early May that immoderate crops were already failing owed to nan country’s driest outpouring successful good complete a century.

In precocious May, nan European Central Bank warned that water scarcity puts astir 15 per cent of nan euro area’s economical output astatine risk. New investigation conducted pinch experts astatine nan University of Oxford recovered that h2o was nan azygous biggest nature-related consequence to nan euro area economy.