Europe is the fastest-warming continent and experienced its hottest year ever last year, that’s according to new data from the EU’s climate change service, Copernicus.
The year 2024 was the warmest ever for Europe, with record-high annual temperatures in almost half of the continent.
Western Europe, including Ireland, saw one of the wettest years in modern times.
“We observed the longest heatwave in southeastern Europe and record glacier mass loss in Scandinavia and Svalbard.
But 2024 was also a year of marked climate contrasts between eastern and western Europe”, said Copernicus director at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Carlo Buontempo.
More extreme weather is putting pressure on systems right across Europe.
The year 2024 saw the most widespread flooding across the continent in more than a decade, it was also a year marked by heat stress, thousands of hectares burnt in wildfires, but also cold extremes with the highest number of frosty days on record.
“This report highlights that Europe is the fastest-warming continent and is experiencing serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change.
Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet”, said Celeste Saulo from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“Adaptation is a must. WMO and its partners are therefore intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large to be more resilient. We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster, and we need to go together.”
Copernicus operates a network of satellites. The weather and climate data for 2024 was analysed by more than 100 scientists.
Greenpeace has responded to the report urging that it should be a wake-up call for the European Union.
“These new findings are shocking, the only parts of Europe that aren’t being boiled dry are being washed away in floods”, said Thomas Gelin from Greenpeace’s EU office.
“People’s lives, livelihoods and homes are all at risk, but European politicians still haven’t held fossil fuel companies accountable or stopped the expansion of their dirty business.
The EU must urgently update its climate targets to reflect the scientific reality, and put a stop to new fossil fuel projects as a first step to a full phase out.
Oil and gas companies are, one after another, giving up any pretence of climate action and are doubling down on profiting from this destruction – governments and the EU must make them pay for the damage.
Taxing polluters could raise money to support communities in Europe and around the world to recover, rebuild and invest in climate solutions.”