July 2025 was the 3rd warmest month globally and the 7th driest in mainland Portugal

Global

July 2025 was +0.45 °C warmer than the 1991–2020 average, with a global mean surface air temperature of 16.68 °C, making it the 3rd warmest July on record. It was also the fourth month in the past 25 months when the global mean air temperature anomaly was below +1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, registering +1.25 °C.

Europe

The average air temperature in Europe in July was 21.12 °C, which is +1.30 °C above the 1991–2020 average, ranking as the 4th warmest July on record for the continent.

In July 2025, the Fennoscandian region recorded the most significant positive air temperature anomalies. These conditions reflected a prolonged heatwave across this part of Europe, particularly in northern Sweden, Norway and Finland, where 13 to 15 days with temperatures above 30 °C were observed at several local weather stations.
Southeastern Europe and Turkey also experienced extreme temperatures, with Silopi, Turkey, reaching 50.5 °C on 25 July, marking the first time a temperature above 50 °C has been recorded in the country.
By contrast, central Europe and western Russia experienced predominantly below-average temperatures compared to the 1991–2020 climatology.

Mainland Portugal

July 2025 was classified as very hot in terms of mean air temperature and very dry in terms of precipitation.

Air temperature:

• It was the 9th warmest July since 1931, with the mean air temperature +1.02 °C above the 1991–2020 average.
• Both maximum and minimum mean air temperatures were also above average: +1.44 °C and +0.61 °C, respectively.
• Two heat periods occurred (1–9 July and 25–31 July), with anomalies exceeding +3.0 °C above the monthly mean on 3, 4, 30 and 31 July.
• On 1, 3 and 16 July, more than 50% of IPMA stations recorded very hot days (Tmax ≥ 35 °C). On 1 July in particular, around 20% of stations registered extremely hot days (Tmax ≥ 40 °C), and 35% of stations reported tropical nights (Tmin ≥ 20 °C).
• At the end of July, a heatwave began in the districts of Viseu and Vila Real, extending into August.
  

Precipitation:

• It was the 7th driest July since 2000, with total rainfall of just 3.3 mm, representing only 33% of the 1991–2020 average.
  

Meteorological drought:

• There was a significant increase in drought conditions, extending across two-thirds of mainland Portugal, with a marked worsening in the northwest region.
• By 31 July, about 67% of the territory was in meteorological drought.

Figure 1. Anomalies of temperature (850hPa), wind (850hPa) and geopotential (500hPa), in July 2025. Source: C3S/ERA5