Europe's deadly heat wave seen from space | Space photo of the day for June 30, 2026

Land surface temperature data captured by Europe's Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on Wednesday, June 23, 2026. The data were captured in the late morning, local time. (Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA)

Over 1,300 deaths have been attributed to a heat wave that swept across Europe and broke temperature records earlier this month.

From its perch in sun-synchronous low Earth orbit, Europe's Sentinel-3 satellite captured data that helps visualize the heat wave and aids researchers in understanding both the causes and effects of the atmospheric phenomena that led to these soaring temperatures.