People living in Austria are getting used to leaving their homes wearing multiple layers and carrying an umbrella during summer. What used to be an “in-between seasons” habit has become the norm for the wet summer days we've been having this year.
Austria saw around 50 percent more rainfall than average in July, and the showers just keep coming. Many parts of the country have had rain nearly every day, and temperatures have stayed unseasonably cool since early July. So why has summer 2025 felt more like an extended April?
According to climate scientists, the answer lies in how global warming is changing atmospheric circulation patterns, especially in the Arctic.
What's happening?
We’re used to a few days of sun, then a few days of rain. But that rhythm is changing. “Our studies show that weather patterns in summer now last twice as long as they used to,” Georg Pistotnik, severe weather expert at Geosphere Austria, told Der Standard. That means low-pressure systems like the ones causing this year’s soggy skies can linger for up to a week, rather than moving on after two or three days.
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In June, Austria experienced heatwaves and some of the highest June temperatures on record. But since early July, a series of slow-moving low-pressure systems has parked over Central Europe, triggering regular rain and unstable conditions. And according to Geosphere Austria, this pattern could continue well into August.
How Arctic warming is changing Austria’s weather
The problem begins thousands of kilometres to the north.
As Arctic regions warm much faster than the global average, the contrast between cold polar air and warm southern air is shrinking. This weakens the jet stream—a high-altitude band of strong westerly winds that normally helps shift weather systems across Europe.
When the jet stream slows or shifts northwards, Austria can fall into a kind of meteorological limbo. “We end up in a kind of no man’s land,” Pistotnik said, “where weather systems wobble around aimlessly—something we’re seeing more often in summer.” The result: longer stretches of unsettled weather, whether hot and dry or cool and rainy.
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Is all this rain at least helping with drought?
To some extent, yes.
Although July has been one of the wettest months in recent memory - possibly the third-rainiest July since the mid-19th century - Austria’s overall rainfall for the year is still about 7 percent below normal. That’s because the winter and spring months were unusually dry, especially in regions like Upper Austria and Vorarlberg.
So while this summer’s rainfall might be a disappointment to sunseekers, it’s helping to restore Austria’s water balance. Gerhard Schubert from Geosphere Austria told Der Standard that rain is welcomed by nature. “Plants are greener, farmers need less irrigation, and even urban gardeners are using less water.”
Still, Schubert notes that summer rainfall doesn’t do much for groundwater levels, so that it won't fill up Austrian lakes. “What matters more is winter precipitation and snowmelt,” he says, because summer water tends to evaporate quickly or get absorbed by plants.
What’s the outlook for August?
There may still be some summer left to salvage.
Geosphere Austria forecasts suggest a return to more stable and warmer conditions in the second half of August. If that happens, Austria could still enjoy a decent late summer.
Even so, the overall summer will likely end up being one to two degrees warmer than the long-term average, thanks to the record-breaking heat in June. In terms of extreme weather - like flooding or major storms - this summer has been comparatively mild, especially after the devastating floods that hit parts of Austria in September 2024.
READ ALSO: Is Austria set for another record-breaking hot summer?
What Austria is experiencing in 2025 isn’t an anomaly - it’s part of a broader climate trend. As global temperatures rise, researchers expect to see more summers marked by either prolonged drought or persistent rainfall.
In other words, Austria’s future summers may be less predictable, swinging between hot and dry or cool and wet extremes.
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