SWEDEN PERSPECTIVE

Stockholm, May 28, 2026. The heatwave that has been crushing Europe since the end of May forces Stockholm to face a reality that has long been perceived as distant: extreme heat is no longer a Mediterranean phenomenon. Dagens Nyheter places the heatwave in its immediate scientific context: a massive anticyclone has settled over the continent, causing records that meteorologists describe as unprecedented for the season. In England, 35°C were recorded, breaking the May record for two consecutive days. In Ireland, 28.6°C. In France, at least seven people have died and over 350 cities have recorded their highest-ever temperatures for the month of May. In Portugal, the city of Mora reached 40.3°C on Wednesday, a new national monthly record.

But it's the systemic dimension that catches the attention of Swedish media. Dagens Nyheter cites a recent report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that establishes that the next five years will very likely be the hottest ever recorded, with global temperatures potentially reaching 1.9°C above pre-industrial normal. In 2024, the global record had already been broken at +1.55°C. The WMO attributes this trajectory to the combination of climate change and the El Niño phenomenon, whose next peak is expected between 2027 and 2028.

For Sweden, the warning is explicit. Michael Tjernström, professor at the Institute of Meteorology at Stockholm University, tells Dagens Nyheter that his country also risks breaking new climate records over the next five years. Scandinavia, often absent from the big maps of thermal vulnerability, enters an unprecedented period of climate uncertainty.

Economic media adds a concrete dimension: Expressen signals that the Ringhals 4 reactor is running at only half its capacity for a week due to a water leak on a generator, with no certain repair date. Three other reactors are undergoing simultaneous maintenance. In a context of high heat, energy demand increases and nuclear supply is reduced – a vulnerability that experts at Svenska kraftnät consider worrying for the summer. "When these large nuclear power plants are not working, we are entirely dependent on the weather," summarizes Patrik Södersten, analyst at Fortum.

Expressen also reminds that Spain, Germany, and Switzerland are also affected, and that Italy has issued its first red alerts of the year for Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Turin. The heatwave is expected to persist in part beyond the weekend in several regions. Stockholm scrutinizes these data with a mix of empathy for the victims in the South and growing awareness that the North is no longer immune.