WIESELBURG, AUSTRIA / RankWire.AI / – Austria set a new July heat record on July 31 when Wieselburg reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous monthly high of 39.7 degrees from 1983 in Lower Austria. GeoSphere Austria confirmed this record amid a period of intense heat sweeping eastern Austria, with the country’s all-time highest temperature remaining 40.5 degrees, recorded at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in August 2013.
Following an exceptionally hot June that broke multiple temperature records, the July peak further highlighted the ongoing heatwave. GeoSphere Austria reported that 157 of its 277 monitoring stations set new June maximums, and an additional 66 stations recorded their highest temperature ever for any month. Vienna hit 40.0 degrees on June 28, while Bad Deutsch-Altenburg reached 40.1 degrees on June 29. Several low-altitude regions experienced between 10 and 14 consecutive days with temperatures above 30 degrees.
The University of Graz’s Wegener Center estimated that the combined June and late July heatwaves caused approximately €1.4 billion in socioeconomic damages, covering health impacts, lost productivity, agricultural losses, and infrastructure pressures. The estimate also accounts for increased cooling demand, ecosystem damage, and heightened stress on public services, but does not represent an official government damage total or insurance claim value.
Heatwave exceeds previous record
Using area-degree days, a metric measuring heat intensity, duration, and geographic extent, the Wegener Center evaluated these events, calculating roughly 16,700 for the June heatwave. Their assessment indicates that late July’s episode ranged from 22,700 to 25,000. Austria’s previous benchmark was a 24-day heatwave in July and August 2013, which reached approximately 22,100 area-degree days across land below 1,500 meters elevation.
This extreme heat coincided with a notable rise in heat-related mortality. The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety estimated 395 heat-associated deaths in June 2026, marking the highest June figure since tracking began. The agency’s calculation compares actual death numbers to expected levels during periods of severe heat and does not require heat to be listed as the sole cause on each death certificate.
Drought worsens the effects of record-breaking heat
Austria experienced months of scarce rainfall before the latest heatwave, receiving about 426 millimeters of precipitation from January 1 through July 27, well below the 609 millimeters average for that period, indicating a shortfall of nearly 30%. Authorities identified the first seven months of 2026 as the driest comparable period since at least the early 20th century, with Lower Austria, Vienna, and northern Burgenland recording some of the largest deficits.
Prolonged high-pressure systems, intense sunlight, and limited rainfall increased evaporation during late spring and summer, reducing soil moisture and impacting crops, rivers, forests, and regional water supplies. Austrian climate records show that heatwaves now occur more frequently, last longer, and reach higher temperatures than in previous decades, with average maximum temperatures during such events rising by about three degrees from the 1980s to the 2020s. The 40.3-degree measurement establishes a new July record in Austria’s documented temperature history.