Europe temperatures rising faster than other continents

Europe had its hottest summer ever in 2022, according to a continent-wide assessment published yesterday, leading to a cascade of devastating heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and glacier melt.

- LOUISE BOYLE

Yet more dangerously high temperatures are expected in the coming months. An imminent El Nino event, on top of a human-caused climate crisis, could see new heat records this summer and next, forecasters have warned.

Overall, 2022 was the second hottest year on record, according to the latest State of the Climate report from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Temperatures in Europe are rising at twice the global average, and faster than any other continent. On average, the past five years in Europe have been around 2.2C hotter than 150 years ago.

"The report highlights alarming changes to our climate, including the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe, marked by unprecedented marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea and record-breaking temperatures in Greenland," said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, in a statement. "Understanding the climate dynamics in Europe is crucial for our efforts to adapt and mitigate the negative impacts climate change has on the continent."

Intense and prolonged heatwaves took a heavy toll on human health. In southern Europe, there were a record number of days where people experienced "very strong heat stress", the report said. More than 20,000 people died during the heatwaves in western European countries in 2022, many of them elderly and vulnerable. There were more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England alone, where the temperature breached 40C for the first time.