European farmers experienced numerous climate-related incidents in 2025, including “extreme” agricultural drought for 35% of the continent in May.
This is according to the European State of the Climate (ESOTC) 2025 report, compiled by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
Looking at agriculture for Europe as a whole, it was one of the three driest years for soil moisture since 1992, the report said. In May, 35% of Europe experienced “extreme” agricultural drought.
For north-western and central Europe, 2025 ranked among the 10 driest in 47 years for precipitation, in contrast to the exceptionally wet conditions seen in 2023 and 2024.
Additionally, Europe has seen the greatest proportion of peatland loss globally, largely due to high population density and the conversion of land for agriculture.
According to the report, 2025 also saw strong regional contrasts in hydrological conditions.
Storms and flooding affected some areas, but overall extreme precipitation and flooding were less widespread than in recent years.
Warming
Celeste Saulo, secretary general of the WMO, said: “Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, with far-reaching repercussions on socioeconomic wellbeing and on ecosystems and biodiversity”.
The report also found that “globally, 2025 was the third-warmest year on record”.
The current level of global warming is estimated to be around 1.4°C above the pre-industrial level.
The report also found that if warming continues at the present rate, the Paris Agreement’s limit of 1.5°C for long-term global warming could be reached by the end of this decade, more than a decade sooner than predicted when the agreement was signed.
Energy
Looking at energy use in 2025, almost half (46.4%) of the electricity generation in Europe came from renewables.
This is nearly unchanged from 2024 (46.5%), which was a new record for the share of electricity generated from renewables and marked the first time that electricity generation from wind and solar exceeded that from fossil fuels.
In 2025, wind and solar together supplied 30.5% of Europe’s electricity, compared with 27.5% from fossil fuels.
Including hydropower, renewables have generated more electricity than fossil fuels every year since 2023, following a period from 2020 to 2022 when electricity generation from renewables and fossil fuels was similar.
Solar power reached a record-high contribution of 12.5% in 2025, up from 10.3% in 2024, while wind contributed 18% and hydro 15.9%.