Europe's rapid warming is clearly reflected in Estonia's observation data, the agency said, adding that the five warmest years in Estonia's measurement history have all occurred since 2015.

Last year was Estonia's third-warmest year on record, according to the European State of the Climate 2025 report cited by the agency. 

The report says that climate change is already reshaping our natural environment, economy, and daily life, and Estonia is by no means exempt from or untouched by these changes, the agency emphasized.

Winters have warmed the most in Estonia, confirming a broader trend across Central and Eastern Europe. Extreme weather events are also becoming more frequent.

For example, the summer of 2025 in Estonia was notably rainy, with total summer precipitation averaging 299 millimeters, almost one-third above the norm. Intense rainfall caused localized flooding in several areas and damaged agricultural and garden lands.

At the same time, two heatwaves were recorded in July.

According to the Environmental Agency, the report's conclusions confirm that climate change is not a distant or abstract concern, but an ongoing reality in Europe.

"We often tend to think that climate change primarily affects distant regions such as drought-stricken Africa or Asia facing extreme heatwaves. In reality, we are seeing its impacts increasingly clearly in Estonia as well, as winters have become noticeably warmer, heatwaves are more frequent, and the risk of heavy rainfall and localized flooding is growing," Environmental Board Director Taimar Ala in a press release.

"In 2025, Estonia and our close neighbor Finland were hit by an exceptionally long and intense heatwave, the effects of which reached the Arctic Circle. In other words, a changing climate is already shaping our living and natural environment, and adaptation is no longer a question for the future but a necessity today," Ala continued.

He stressed that the agency's assessments are based on long-term and extensive datasets from weather and environmental monitoring.

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