Europe Warming Faster Than Any Other Continent, Report Suggests

Topline

A sweeping climate report released Monday says Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, which has contributed to violent wildfires, drought conditions and a rise in heat-related deaths over the last several years.

A person walks with children and a sled to a slope covered in artificial snow as grass covers the … [+] rest of the hill on either side on January 6, 2023 in Filzmoos, Austria. Alpine ski resorts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland are facing an unseasonably warm January that has brought record temperatures to many parts of Europe. Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

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Key Facts

Europe’s temperatures are increasing at twice the global average rate of 1.2 degrees Celsius, according to the most recent European State of the Climate report, and have been since the 1980s.

2022 brought a spring and summer drought through much of Europe; record-breaking heat; wildfires in the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the U.K.; and a record loss of glacier ice from the European Alps.

More than 16,000 people died last year from severe heat in Europe, and about $2 billion in damages were attributed to floods and storms brought by weather and climate extremes, Yahoo News reported.

European economies and ecosystems took a big hit due to the unprecedented climate change, the report said—the Iberian Peninsula, which provides water to Spain, saw its fourth drier-than-average year in a row; dry conditions hit farmers in France and Germany, which saw a lower-than-average cereal and grape yield; and glaciers saw a new record mass loss for a single year.

Key Background

The Earth has been warming at an unprecedented rate since the mid-1800s, when the industrial revolution introduced a skyrocketing usage of fossil fuels and other climate-harming behaviors that kicked off a warming rate not seen in the past 10,000 years, according to NASA. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean and biosphere have occurred since, and Monday’s report says Europe is now 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter than it was in pre-industrial times. A relatively recent shift to prioritizing climate solutions has politicians and global organizations pushing for greener alternatives to harmful energy sources like coal and oil, and the 2015 Paris Accords has 195 member nations focused on cutting roughly 50% of emissions by 2030.

Environmentalists demonstrate during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) on December … [+] 12, 2015 in Paris, France. The first universal agreement on the climate was been proposed at the United Nations conference on climate change COP21 in Le Bourget. Chesnot/Getty Images

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Big Number

30%. That’s how many more warm days occurred in Europe in 2022 than in the average year. Temperatures were 7 to 10 degrees Celsius warmer than average for seven of the 12 months in 2023, and in July temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record in the U.K.

What To Watch For

Hotter days, bigger wildfires and more frequent floods. The State of the Climate report says the trend of high temperatures and drought will allow fires to burn hotter for longer periods of time. In addition, rainfall in months when snow is more common can lead to ice melt and increased flooding, as seen in Greenland last fall.

Tangent

The climate report was released on the same day President Joe Biden is expected to launch more than $600 million worth of new climate change initiatives. On a three-day visit to California that starts Monday, Biden is expected to announce a $575 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration project to help coastal and Great Lakes communities become more resilient to climate change and a $67 million investment for California to modernize its electric grid.