Now it's official

It’s never been hotter or drier than this year

State Councilor for the Environment Stefan Kaineder presented the shocking results of the record-breaking summer(Bild: Werner Dedl)

It’s been a summer of records: What many already suspected can now be said with certainty. The numbers are thought-provoking. It was too hot, and above all, there was a lack of rainfall. State Environmental Councilor Stefan Kaineder has now presented a summary of the hot summer

Monday marked the last day of the warmest season—at least from a meteorological standpoint. And what a summer it was: In Linz, 44 days with temperatures above 30 degrees and 20 nights with temperatures above 20 degrees were recorded—more than ever before.

40 hot days
It wasn’t just in the central region—and especially in the concrete canyons of the capital—that it was so hot: Braunau, Enns, Bad Goisern, and Weyer also recorded more than 40 hot days. “That was the warmest summer in 260 years of recorded history. In the past 40 years alone, summers have become 2.8 degrees warmer on average,” explains Alexander Ohms, a meteorologist at GeoSphere Austria. He echoed State Councilor for the Environment Stefan Kaineder (Greens) during his press conference on the summer climate report.

Weather patterns persist for a long time
By way of comparison: In the summer of 2025, there wasn’t a single night with temperatures above 20 degrees. However, the expert emphasizes that this does not contradict climate change: “So-called blocking weather patterns are increasing significantly—the weather remains constant for longer periods than before. This increases the potential for them to become more extreme,” says Ohms. While the summer of 2025 was too wet, this year’s summer is 43 percent too dry. In some regions, the situation was even more dire: In Wels, for example, there was an 87 percent deficit, and in Steyr, precipitation was 91 (!) percent below normal.

It’s been too dry since February
Not just the summer, but the entire year—with the exception of February—was far too dry: In Linz, for example, there is a shortfall of 239 liters of precipitation per square meter. On a very rainy day, around 20 to 30 liters fall. “The answer can only be twofold: We must reduce emissions so that global warming doesn’t accelerate, and we must adapt to minimize damage,” says Provincial Councilor Stefan Kaineder of the Greens. He also criticized the nationwide cuts to climate protection measures.