When Europe heats up, Copernicus keeps watch from space

In late June 2026, exceptional heat affected much of Europe, with temperatures exceeding 40 °C in several countries. While weather stations measured air temperatures, Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites mapped temperatures at the land and sea surface, showing how heat varied between cities, forests and surrounding waters. These observations support efforts to understand extreme heat and strengthen Europe's climate resilience.

Recent Copernicus Climate Change Service research shows that hazardous heat is becoming more frequent, intense and widespread, with Europe experiencing some of the most pronounced changes in heat stress and warmer nights. For EUSPA, this underlines the need to help users turn Copernicus data into services that support preparedness, adaptation and decision-making.

Extreme heat is already claiming lives, putting older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions at greatest risk. But understanding exactly where the danger lies is more complicated than simply reading a thermometer. The answers are increasingly coming from space.

Sentinel-3 satellites are capturing some of Europe's most detailed land and sea surface temperature data, revealing how heat builds across rural and urban landscapes. This information is helping firefighters battle wildfires, planners build cooler cities and scientists strengthen Europe's response to a warming world.

Visible from space

Satellite observations are making urban heat patterns visible. In June, the European Commission released a striking map of land surface temperature (LST) across Brussels. While the city's sealed urban surfaces reached high temperatures, with LST exceeding 47 °C, the nearby Sonian Forest remained a cool 24.5 °C. These data clearly show how trees can help cool cities and make them more resilient to climate change.

Making these measurements is the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR), one of Sentinel-3's key instruments. It measures reflected solar radiation and thermal radiation emitted by land and ocean surfaces, providing scientists with valuable data that can support timely monitoring and more reliable forecasting.

Beyond simply tracking environmental change, these observations prove valuable by transforming space data into practical tools for cities, public authorities and businesses. This is an area supported by EUSPA through market development and EU-funded projects.

In late June, the two European Sentinel-3 satellites used their SLSTR to observe sea surface temperatures across Europe, which increased during the heatwave. Temperature anomalies were highest in the western Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the Gulf of Lion off the coast of southern France, and in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas along the western coast of Italy. In these areas, temperatures reached up to 6 °C above the average for the period. While warmer seas may appear benign in the short term, they can have serious consequences for climate, ecosystems and human health. Higher sea temperatures can increase the strength of storms and significantly affect marine life.

The EU Space Market Report 2026 confirms that climate services are now among the fastest-growing areas of EO use and that space data are important for areas such as climate resilience, environmental regulation and biodiversity protection. For example, EUSPA-supported projects like Urban Development Explorations Using Natural Experiments (UDENE) and 100KTREES are leveraging Copernicus EO data alongside local data sources to support evidence-based urban planning, climate adaptation and urban-greening decisions. By helping cities analyse challenges such as urban heat islands, air quality and climate resilience, these projects demonstrate how Copernicus data can support more sustainable and informed decision-making in response to a changing climate.

From monitoring to practical solutions

Beyond monitoring the impacts of climate change, Copernicus data also support evidence-based policies aimed at addressing its underlying causes. Sentinel-5P, the precursor to the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, provides daily global measurements of atmospheric methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases contributing to global warming after CO₂. These observations help scientists and policymakers identify emission sources and support climate mitigation efforts. By the end of 2027, more Copernicus data will be available to users with the launch of CO2M satellite aiming to track global human-made greenhouse gas emissions.

As heatwaves become more frequent across Europe, reliable Earth Observation data will play an increasingly important role in both adapting to higher temperatures and informing climate policy. The Sentinel-3 mission will continue contributing to these efforts, with the planned launch of Sentinel-3C in September 2026 further strengthening Europe's ability to monitor environmental change, improve data continuity and better prepare for extreme weather events.

As Europe adapts to a changing climate, EUSPA will continue to ensure that Copernicus data are transformed into actionable intelligence, helping public authorities, businesses and citizens build a more resilient future.

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