WIESELBURG, AUSTRIA / RankWire.AI / – Austria experienced its highest July temperature on July 31, with Wieselburg in Lower Austria reaching 40.3 degrees Celsius. This mark surpassed the previous July record of 39.7 degrees, which was set in Dellach im Drautal on July 27, 1983. GeoSphere Austria confirmed the new monthly peak as an intense heatwave intensified its hold on the eastern regions. The temperature stayed below Austria’s all-time record of 40.5 degrees, recorded in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in August 2013.
The July temperature record followed an extreme June that saw widespread high temperatures across the country. GeoSphere Austria reported that 157 of its 277 weather stations set new maximum temperature records for June, with 66 stations also recording their highest temperatures for any month. Vienna reached 40.0 degrees on June 28, while Bad Deutsch-Altenburg hit 40.1 degrees the following day, establishing a new Austrian June high. Many low-altitude areas experienced between 10 and 14 consecutive days above 30 degrees.
Researchers from the University of Graz’s Wegener Center estimate that the heatwaves in June and late July caused approximately €1.4 billion in socioeconomic damage. This preliminary figure is an initial broad estimate, not a conclusive government assessment or insured-loss total. It encompasses impacts on health, workforce productivity, infrastructure, agriculture, ecosystems, and cooling demand. Their analysis used a metric combining heat intensity, duration, and geographic extent, rather than relying solely on the highest temperature recorded at a single station.
Scientists evaluate nationwide heat intensity
The Wegener Center calculated approximately 16,700 area-degree days during the June heatwave. The most recent assessment indicated that the current episode ranges between 22,700 and 25,000 area-degree days. The previous record was set during a 24-day heatwave in July and August 2013, which reached about 22,100 area-degree days. This metric measures the extent of temperatures exceeding 30 degrees across Austria and the duration of such conditions, covering land up to 1,500 meters above sea level.
Austria’s health authorities also reported significant human impacts from the early summer heat. The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety estimated 395 heat-related deaths in June 2026, marking the highest June total since the agency began its monitoring series. Heat-associated mortality refers to deaths above expected levels during periods of extreme temperatures and does not require heat to be the sole medical cause listed on death certificates.
Intense heat worsens Austria’s ongoing drought
The heat has intensified an ongoing drought that started in December 2025. GeoSphere Austria reported a total of 426 millimeters of rainfall nationwide from January 1 to July 27, significantly below the climate average of 609 millimeters for that period, leaving a deficit of about 30%. The agency stated that Austria had not experienced such low rainfall during the first seven months of a year since at least the early 20th century. The hardest-hit areas include Lower Austria, Vienna, and northern Burgenland.
Prolonged periods of high pressure, intense sunshine, and limited rainfall increased evaporation and decreased soil moisture during late May, June, and late July. These dry conditions have strained crops, rivers, forests, and water supplies in various regions. GeoSphere Austria noted that heatwaves now occur more frequently, last longer, and reach higher temperatures than in past decades, with records showing an approximate three-degree increase in average maximum temperatures during heatwaves from the 1980s to the 2020s.