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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation funded by donations from our readers. We can’t do what we do without your support.
This is breaking news and may be updated as more information becomes available.
Temperatures in Poland have reached their highest levels on record as the heat wave that hit Europe this week moves east.
Indicator 40.5°C (104.9°F) was recorded in the city of Slubice on Sunday afternoon, and a temperature of 40.3°C in the city of Torun, Agnieszka Prasek, a representative of the Polish state meteorological agency IMGW-PIB, told Polsat News. Both values are higher than the previous record high of 40.2°C.
“At the moment, according to telemetry and operational data, in Torun it is 40.3 degrees Celsius, in Slubice 40.5 degrees Celsius, so at the moment we can say that the record has been broken,” IMWM spokeswoman Agnieszka Prasek told Polsat News.
– PolsatNews.pl (@PolsatNewsPL) June 28, 2026
It remains possible that even higher temperatures will be recorded today as measurements continue to be received and officially confirmed.
Temperatures exceeded 35°C across much of Poland today and the hot weather is likely to continue until Monday.
🌡️ Air temperature in Poland – time 15:00.
🌐 Current measurements, forecasts and weather warnings are available at #IMGWPIB #MeteoIMGW #Pogoda #Upał pic.twitter.com/9989ksO67c
— IMGW-PIB METEO POLSKA (@IMGWmeteo) June 28, 2026
On Saturday, Slubice, located on the western border with Germany, already recorded the highest June temperature in Poland’s history – 38.9°C. This surpassed the previous June record. The temperature of 38.3°C was recorded in 2019 in the village of Ceber, Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
Now the all-time record is 40.2.°C in the territory of today’s Poland (a country whose borders have changed regularly throughout history) was also violated. This was recorded in 1921 in the city of Pruszkow, which at that time was part of Germany.
Even higher temperature, 40.5.°C, was noted in 1943 in the town of Scinawa, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, although this reading is not recognized as official, since no documentation survives from before the war.
Much of Europe has seen sweltering temperatures this week, with many countries breaking all-time records, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Forecasters warned that extremely high temperatures would remain across much of Poland on Monday, although the weather would begin to cool from Tuesday.
In addition to the extreme heat, Poland’s state weather agency IMGW-PIB warns that severe storms, including heavy rain and strong winds, are likely in parts of the country between Sunday and Wednesday. Storms were reported in parts of western Poland on Sunday afternoon.
⚠️⛈️ METEOROLOGICAL NOTICE REGARDING FORECASTED SEVERE STORMS AND INTENSIVE RAIN. ⛈️⚠️
👉Analysis of the current synoptic situation and the results of numerical models indicate the persistence of conditions conducive to the occurrence of stormy phenomena… pic.twitter.com/djcoSaJjZN
— IMGW-PIB METEO POLSKA (@IMGWmeteo) June 28, 2026
Various weather organizations, as well as other scientists and experts, are warning that the conditions seen in Europe this week will become increasingly common due to climate change.
“Heat waves like this are what we expect to see in a changing climate,” said John Kennedy, head of climate information at the World Meteorological Organization. Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with average temperatures rising by two degrees over the past 50 years, he noted.
Speaking at London Climate Week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “climate disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive and more costly,” noting that such events “hit vulnerable people the hardest.”
Human-caused climate change has made the extreme rainfall that caused recent deadly floods in central Europe twice as likely and 7% more intense, a team of scientists has found.
They warn that rising global temperatures will make such events even more common.
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 26, 2024
In addition to the heat waves, Poland has suffered from persistent drought as a result of low rainfall in recent years. Last summer, the water level in the longest river, the Vistula in Warsaw, fell by 4 cm.
Meanwhile, climate change has also increased the likelihood of flooding. After deadly floods hit Poland in 2024, scientists found that disaster had become more likely and more intense due to man-made climate change.
And extreme weather doesn’t stop at heat. At the other end of the thermometer, a new record low temperature of -41.1°C (about -42°F) was recorded in February 2025 in Poland’s southern Tatra Mountains.
Water levels in the Vistula, Poland’s longest river, reached a record low of 4 cm in Warsaw this month.
This doesn’t mean the river is drying up, but it is an indicator of the growing environmental threats it faces, explains @WojciechKosc.
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 24, 2025
Notes from Poland is produced by a small editorial team and published by an independent, nonprofit foundation funded by donations from our readers. We can’t do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Klaudia Radecka / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Ben Koszalka – translator, lecturer and senior magazine editor Notes from Poland. Originally from the UK, he has lived in Krakow since 2005.