Austria has officially recorded its highest temperature in history, with the national weather agency GeoSphere Austria confirming a reading of 41°C. The record-breaking heat was measured on Tuesday in Stammersdorf, located in the northeast of the capital, Vienna. This peak occurred after the region had already reached 40.8°C earlier that same day, effectively shattering the previous national record of 40.5°C, which was set on August 8, 2013, at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in eastern Austria.
The extreme temperature is part of an ongoing period of intense heat and significantly low rainfall across the nation. GeoSphere Austria reported that the country recently experienced its fourth-warmest July on record, with some monitoring stations noting a precipitation deficit as high as 90 percent. The environmental impact is also affecting agriculture; apricots are ripening roughly 20 days earlier than the historical average observed between 1961 and 1991, highlighting the influence of global warming on crop cycles. Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig has raised concerns that the persistent drought is drying up pastures, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to provide feed for their livestock.
Local businesses are also feeling the strain of the heat. Nasir Dis, a 60-year-old restaurant owner in Vienna, described the situation as a catastrophe, noting that very few customers are visiting because they prefer to stay indoors to escape the sweltering conditions. Meanwhile, the extreme weather is affecting neighboring regions as well. In Slovakia, the capital city of Bratislava recorded its own highest temperature ever at 40.8°C on Tuesday, surpassing the record of 39.9°C set just one day prior. Experts indicate that the climate crisis has exacerbated drought conditions across Europe throughout the summer, with extreme heat serving as a primary driver for the current dry spell.
