The Summer That Forgot to Cool Down

There are summers that feel warm, summers that feel hot, and then there are summers that make you question whether the seasons have quietly changed their rules. In the Czech Republic, 2026 was one of those summers.

It started with an unusually hot June

June was already a warning sign. According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, the average temperature across the country reached 19.1 °C, which was 2.6 °C above the 1991–2020 normal. That made June 2026 the third-warmest June in the Czech record since 1961.

The end of the month was particularly extreme. On June 28, temperatures reached 41.9 °C in Doksany, setting a new absolute temperature record for the Czech Republic. In Prague, June was even more remarkable: the long-running Klementinum station recorded an average temperature of 22.9 °C, making it the second-warmest June in its 252-year record.

July brought a short break — then more heat

July was less extreme overall, but it was still warmer and considerably drier than normal. The national average temperature was 19.2 °C, 0.9 °C above the 1991–2020 normal. Only 51 mm of precipitation fell on average, around 57% of the usual amount.

The month also had a very noticeable rhythm. After a relatively ordinary start, temperatures climbed again in the middle of July. Then came a cooler period between July 19 and 24, when daytime temperatures generally stayed below 25 °C. It did not last. The final days of July turned into another intense heatwave, with temperatures above 35 °C recorded at a large number of stations. Doksany reached 40.1 °C on July 30.

August kept the summer going

August was where the summer really established its character. The national average temperature was 20.0 °C, which was 2.1 °C above normal. That placed August among the six warmest Augusts in the Czech record since 1961.

The first half of the month was especially hot. From August 1 to 17, temperatures exceeded 30 °C almost every day. Some locations again recorded temperatures above 40 °C. At the same time, the month was not exceptionally dry when viewed across the whole country: precipitation was close to normal, although Moravia and Silesia received substantially less rain than Bohemia.

What made the summer unusual?

Looking at the three months together gives a clearer picture than any single heatwave. In Prague's Klementinum record, the summer of 2026 had an average temperature of 22.8 °C, 2.1 °C above the 1990–2020 normal. It ranked as the second-warmest summer in the station's 252-year history, placing it within roughly the warmest one percent of summers recorded there.

That does not mean every day was hot. There were cooler spells, rainy days and perfectly ordinary summer weather. What stands out is the overall baseline: the season repeatedly returned to unusually high temperatures, with several intense heatwaves layered on top.

The strange feeling of a new normal

Weather is easy to remember selectively. One cold evening can make a summer feel normal, while one afternoon above 35 °C can dominate the memory of an entire week. Statistics help separate that impression from what actually happened.

For the Czech Republic, the numbers from 2026 are difficult to ignore. A national temperature record in June, repeated heatwaves, a very warm August and a second-place position in Prague's exceptionally long temperature record all point in the same direction: this was not simply a summer with a few hot days. It was a persistently warm season.

And perhaps that is what I will remember most about the summer of 2026. Not a single record or a particular heatwave, but how quickly temperatures that once felt extreme could start to feel ordinary.