WIESELBURG, AUSTRIA / RankWire.AI / – Austria recorded its highest temperature for July on July 31, when Wieselburg in Lower Austria reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous national July record of 39.7 degrees set in Dellach im Drautal on July 27, 1983. The new temperature mark was confirmed by GeoSphere Austria as a severe heatwave intensified its hold on eastern regions, although the all-time Austrian temperature record of 40.5 degrees, measured in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in August 2013, was not exceeded.
This July temperature record followed a notably extreme June, which saw widespread heat across Austria. GeoSphere Austria reported that 157 out of its 277 weather stations registered new maximum temperature records for June, with 66 stations also recording their highest temperature ever for any month. Vienna hit 40.0 degrees on June 28, and the following day, Bad Deutsch-Altenburg reached 40.1 degrees, establishing a new Austrian high for June. Numerous low-altitude areas experienced temperatures above 30 degrees for 10 to 14 consecutive days.
Researchers from the University of Graz’s Wegener Center estimate that the combined heatwaves in June and late July caused approximately €1.4 billion in socioeconomic damages. This figure is an initial broad estimate, not a final government tally or an insured-loss total. Their assessment accounts for impacts on health, workforce productivity, infrastructure, agriculture, ecosystems, and cooling demand. The scientists evaluated both episodes using a comprehensive metric that considers heat intensity, duration, and geographic extent, rather than relying solely on the highest temperature recorded at a single station.
Nationwide heat severity measured by researchers
The Wegener Center calculated roughly 16,700 area-degree days during the June heatwave, but the recent episode has been estimated to range between 22,700 and 25,000 area-degree days. The previous benchmark was set during a 24-day heatwave in July and August 2013, which reached approximately 22,100 area-degree days. This metric gauges how extensively temperatures above 30 degrees spread across Austria and how long such conditions persist, with the assessment including land elevations up to 1,500 meters above sea level.
Austria’s health authorities have also reported significant human impacts from these early summer heatwaves. The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety estimated that there were 395 heat-related deaths in June 2026, marking the highest June total since the agency’s monitoring began. These heat-related fatalities reflect a rise in deaths above the expected baseline during periods of extreme heat, without necessarily requiring heat as the direct medical cause on death certificates.
Extended drought worsened by record heat in Austria
The persistent heat has intensified a drought that started in December 2025. According to GeoSphere Austria, the country received 426 millimeters of rainfall from January 1 to July 27, well below the climate average of 609 millimeters for that period, creating a deficit of approximately 30%. The agency highlighted that Austria has not recorded such low rainfall during the first seven months of a year since at least the early 20th century, with Lower Austria, Vienna, and northern Burgenland among the most severely affected regions.
Prolonged periods of high-pressure systems, intense sunshine, and minimal precipitation led to increased evaporation and reduced soil moisture throughout late May, June, and late July. These dry conditions have strained crops, rivers, forests, and water supplies across various regions. GeoSphere Austria noted that heatwaves now occur more frequently, last longer, and reach higher maximum temperatures than in past decades, with their records indicating an increase of about three degrees in average maximum temperatures during heatwaves from the 1980s through the 2020s.