Europe, fastest-warming continent, endures hottest year in 2024

Europe experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, marked by deadly floods, prolonged heatwaves, and unprecedented climate extremes, according to a joint report released this week by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The "European State of the Climate 2024" report highlights that Europe remains the world's fastest-warming continent, experiencing "serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change."

Extreme weather events left a significant toll. Last year saw the most widespread flooding in Europe since 2013, with almost one-third of the river network exceeding the "high" flood threshold and 12 percent surpassing the "severe" flood threshold. At least 335 people lost their lives and 413,000 were affected by storms and floods.

Heat-related stress also surged. Europe recorded its second-highest number of days with "strong," "very strong," and "extreme" heat stress, with nearly 60 percent of the continent experiencing above-average days of "strong heat stress."

Southeastern Europe endured its longest heatwave on record in July, lasting 13 consecutive days and affecting 55 percent of the region. There were record-breaking numbers of days with at least "strong heat stress" (66) and tropical nights (23) in southeastern Europe during summer.

For the year as a whole, sea surface temperatures for the European region and the Mediterranean Sea were the highest ever recorded, at 0.7 degrees Celsius and 1.2 degrees Celsius above average, respectively.

The year's climate extremes led to record glacier losses across all European regions, with glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, experiencing their highest rates of mass loss on record – averaging a thickness loss of 1.8 meters in Scandinavia and 2.7 meters in Svalbard.

In September, fires in Portugal burned around 1,100 square kilometers in one week, representing around a quarter of Europe's total annual burned area. An estimated 42,000 people were affected by wildfires in Europe.

"These extreme events led to an estimated 18 billion euros (about $20 billion) of damages, 85 percent of which is attributed to flooding," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, during a press conference to discuss the report's key findings.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasized the urgency of climate action in a statement, "Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet. Adaptation is a must."

Despite the challenges, the report has a silver lining. The proportion of electricity generation by renewables in Europe reached a record high in 2024, and now stands at 45 percent.

The "European State of the Climate" report is released annually and provides a comprehensive assessment of climate trends and impacts across the continent. This year's edition is the eighth in the series and the second that has been published jointly with Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation program.

(Cover: Tourists in Monastiraki Square in Athens, Greece, June 28, 2024. /VCG)