Europe Experiences Exceptional Heatwave | European Space Agency
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An exceptional heatwave is affecting countries across western Europe with cities and regions of France, Spain, and southern Italy experiencing unseasonal temperatures. This image of land surface temperature was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on Wednesday, June 23, 2026. The data were captured in the late morning, local time.
The colors shown on the image range from purples and deep reds (indicating surface temperatures up to 55ºC, seen in parts of central Spain, western France and northern Africa) to light blues that indicate lower surface temperatures in mountainous regions. Areas covered by cloud are shown in white.
The satellite sensed temperatures on land of 48ºC in Madrid, 44ºC in Rome and 46ºC in Poitier in France and Zaragoza in Spain. The ground temperatures in northern Africa are visibly higher with temperatures on the ground in Tunis reaching 49ºC. Because surfaces, such as rock, sand and asphalt retain the heat, ground temperatures are considerably higher than air temperatures.
Sentinel-3 carries four instruments, including its Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR)—a powerful and highly accurate sensor that measures temperatures over both land and sea. It detects heat stress over land and its data are used in agriculture as well as monitoring urban heat islands and wildfires.
The current European heatwave is caused by an atmospheric pattern of persistent high pressure – a ‘heat dome’—trapped over Europe between low pressure systems on each side. Summer heat in Europe is not normally associated with El Niño and therefore, although satellite data have detected early signs of the El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, it is not the driver behind the current temperatures in Europe.
Unlike air temperature, land surface temperature shows how hot the ground itself becomes, often much higher as rock and asphalt absorb heat throughout the day. Sentinel-3 uses thermal sensors to monitor Earth’s land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere, supporting everything from weather response to long-term climate monitoring.
The European Space Agency's Copernicus Earth Observation Program:
https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/copernicus/
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