2022 European Heatwave

About

The 2022 European Heatwave refers to a weeklong weather event in mid-July 2022 in which a severe heatwave took place across Western Europe with multiple days of record-breaking high temperatures causing wildfires and hundreds of deaths across the continent. The unseasonable heat was exacerbated by much of Europe lacking air conditioning due to the historically lower temperatures and older buildings incompatible with central heating and air. The event, similar to other viral weather occurrences like the 2019 Polar Vortex, spawned numerous memes about the weather and its effects, with prevalent viral topics revolving around comparisons to heat in the United States and formats such as This Is Fine being used to describe the weather.

History

Starting on July 10th, 2022, there was a large heatwave that started in China, as noted by the weather-themed Twitter account @extremetemps^[1] that day. The heatwave was described as "deadly," with temperatures in the upper 40 to 43 degrees Celsius (upwards of 104 degrees Fahrenheit). This early notification seemed a one-off at the time, only gathering mild conversation and likes initially that later turned into the start of a weather trend (shown below).

That same day, July 10th, U.K. Twitter user @tylerdurden2025^[5] was the first to post a meme about the impending heat wave, posting a reaction GIF of a shirtless man sitting in front of fan cooling off (seen below).

Everyone celebrating the heat wave 😎🕺Me hiding at home:#hot#heatwave #summer#toohot pic.twitter.com/NYRJT5ammL

— Tyler Durden (@tylerdurden2025) July 10, 2022

The extremetemps^[2] account was also the first to notice the heatwave progressing into Europe, as noted on July 11th, 2022, in which it was noted that Central Europe was still experiencing a minor cooling while other parts were starting to heat up and approaching record-breaking temperatures (shown below).

Online Reactions

The reactions to the heatwave over the following week in mid-July 2022 were varied, with some posting memes, discussions or various theories behind the cause of the historic temps. In particular, the topic of climate change became a polarizing debate with both detractors and supporters of the topic engaging in heated discussions over its causing of the European heatwave. For example, Twitter user and climate advocate @CapitalWeather^[3] made a post on July 16th, 2022, about the deadly effects of the heat wave (with over three hundred dead just a few days into it) pointing to climate change as their explanation for the weather (shown below). In four days, the tweet received over 480 likes and 300 retweets, as well as several replies where users argued over climate change causing the heatwave.

Aside from viral debates over climate change, a large number of memes about the event revolved around either apathy or ironic posting about it, with meme creators often expressing their nonchalant disregard for the heat or accepting their place within it and using the memes as a way to showcase what their experience was. This is can be seen via the Twitter post by the account @GetInTheMecha^[4] on July 19th, 2022, which used images from the anime Fire Force that featured people spontaneously combusting and becoming living flame demons (shown below). The meme received over 370 likes and 50 retweets in roughly 24 hours.

On July 18th, 2022, a viral video and images of a Queen's Guard receiving water from a security guard at Buckingham Palace during the London heatwave was widely shared online and covered by media outlets commenting on the extreme temperatures.^[6] A repost of the clip was shared by the YouTube channel Royal Family LIVE that day, which accumulated over 3,300 views in two days (seen below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References