WIESELBURG, AUSTRIA / RankWire.AI / – Austria experienced its highest temperature for July on July 31 when Wieselburg reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous July record of 39.7 degrees set in Dellach im Drautal in 1983. GeoSphere Austria verified this new monthly peak during a heatwave centered on the eastern regions of the country. Austria’s record temperature remains 40.5 degrees, recorded at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in August 2013.
This July milestone followed a June characterized by widespread and persistent extreme heat, with GeoSphere Austria reporting new maximum temperatures at 157 of its 277 weather stations and 66 stations recording their highest temperature for any month. On June 28, Vienna reached 40.0 degrees, while Bad Deutsch-Altenburg hit 40.1 degrees the next day. Several low-lying areas endured 10 to 14 consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees.
The Wegener Center at the University of Graz estimated combined socioeconomic losses of approximately €1.4 billion from the June and late July heatwaves, covering health impacts, lost productivity, farm damage, infrastructure stress, and increased cooling demand. The figure also accounts for effects on ecosystems and public services but does not represent a final government assessment or insured-loss total, as insurance data only reflect damage covered under active policies.
Heatwave intensity exceeds previous Austrian event
Researchers at the Wegener Center measured the events using area-degree days, which combine heat intensity, duration, and geographic extent, calculating approximately 16,700 for the June heatwave. Their analysis placed the late July episode between 22,700 and 25,000. Austria’s previous record occurred during a 24-day heatwave in July and August 2013, reaching about 22,100 area-degree days across land below 1,500 meters elevation.
These extreme temperatures coincided with a marked rise in heat-related deaths, with Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety estimating 395 such deaths in June 2026, the highest June total since tracking began. Heat-associated mortality refers to deaths above expected levels during unusually hot periods and does not require heat to be the sole cause on each death certificate.
Persistent drought worsens with lack of rainfall
Following several months of unusually dry weather, Austria confronted the heatwave with nationwide rainfall from January 1 to July 27 totaling about 426 millimeters, well below the long-term average of 609 millimeters for that period, creating a near 30% shortfall. Authorities described the first seven months of 2026 as the driest comparable period since at least the early 1900s, with lower Austria, Vienna, and northern Burgenland experiencing some of the largest rainfall deficits.
Persistent high-pressure systems, intense sunshine, and minimal rainfall increased evaporation during late spring and summer, reducing soil moisture and stressing crops, rivers, forests, and water supplies. Climate records show that heatwaves have become more frequent, prolonged, and intense over recent decades, with average maximum temperatures during these events rising by about three degrees from the 1980s to the 2020s. Austria’s new July record thus adds another clear marker to the upward trend of extreme heat in the country.