Europe should brace itself for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The report highlights that Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent and was 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter last year than in pre-industrial times. It also notes the crop-withering drought, record sea-surface temperatures and unprecedented glacier melt that the continent is experiencing due to the effects of climate change.
Impact on Europe
The report highlights that Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s and experienced its warmest summer on record last year. The continent saw countries including France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom experiencing their warmest year on record. The high temperatures exacerbated severe and widespread drought conditions, fuelled violent wildfires that resulted in the second largest burnt area on record, and led to thousands of heat-associated excess deaths. Severe heat left over 16,000 people dead last year, while floods and storms accounted for most of the $2 billion in damages from weather and climate extremes.
The increasing temperatures have also taken a toll on economies and ecosystems in Europe. The Alps saw a new record mass loss for a single year in 2022 due to low winter levels of snow, a hot summer and deposits of wind-blown Saharan dust. The oceans saw the hottest average sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic on record, with warming rates in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic and Black Seas and the southern Arctic more than three times the global average. Marine heat waves displace or even kill species and lasted for up to five months in several regions, including the western Mediterranean Sea, English Channel and southern Arctic.
Rainfall was below normal across much of the continent, hitting agricultural production and water reserves while creating the conditions for wildfires. The year saw the second largest burnt area in the region on record, with large fires scorching across parts of France, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The Spanish water reserve decreased to less than half of capacity by July as the Iberian Peninsula saw its fourth drier-than-average year in a row in 2022. The drought also affected energy production, leading to reductions in hydroelectric power as well as output from some nuclear power stations which rely on water supplies for cooling.
The Future of Energy
However, the report also highlights a positive sign for the future in the form of renewable energy. Wind and solar power generated 22.3 percent of European Union electricity in 2022, overtaking fossil gas (20 percent) for the first time. The report attributes this to a “significant increase” in installed solar power last year. The report notes that solar and wind complement each other throughout the year, with solar radiation higher in late spring and summer and wind intensity usually higher in winter.
While there has been no significant trend in wind or rain patterns in Europe over the last 30 years, the report notes a marked increase in sunlight, with 2022 seeing the highest amount of solar radiation since records began in 1983.
The report highlights that climate change is a pressing issue that Europe needs to address. The continent is facing deadly heatwaves, drought, wildfires and other extreme weather events that are affecting ecosystems, economies and people’s lives. However, there is hope for a more sustainable future through the adoption of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. It is crucial that governments and individuals take action to mitigate the effects of climate change to ensure a livable future for generations to come.
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