Floods, storms and deadly heatwaves - Europe experienced severe consequences of climate change in 2024
Last year was the hottest year ever recorded for Europe, with record annual temperatures in almost half of the continent.
The latest State of the European Climate report from the EU's Copernicus service (C3S) shows that 45 percent of days were much warmer than average, while 12 percent were the warmest ever recorded.
More than 100 scientific experts gathered to demonstrate that the impacts of climate change on Europe, which is warming twice as fast as the global average, were quite clear in 2024.
Storms were often severe, flooding was widespread, and parts of the continent were hit by record-breaking heat waves.
Experts from Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization warn that "an additional fraction of a degree of temperature increase is significant," as it highlights the risk to human lives, economies and the planet.
The 2024 report "highlights that Europe is the fastest-warming continent and is experiencing serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change," according to the World Meteorological Organization's secretary-general, Celeste Saulo.
All European regions suffered ice loss last year, while glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard experienced their highest rates of mass loss ever recorded.
Fires in Portugal in September burned 110,000 hectares of land in a week, a quarter of Europe's total annual burned area for 2024. In total, the blazes across the continent affected 42,000 people.
Flooding also had a dramatic and often deadly impact on communities across Europe. In September, Storm Boris hit hundreds of thousands of people with flooding, deaths and damage in parts of Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy.
At least 232 people died in Valencia, with further casualties in the provinces of Albacete, Cuenca and Malaga. Damage to infrastructure and economic losses were severe, totalling around 16.5 billion euros. Storms and floods across Europe last year affected a total of 413,000 people, led to the loss of at least 335 lives and are estimated to have cost at least 18 billion euros in damage.
Extreme heat was also a problem for many people in 2024. In July, Southeastern Europe experienced its longest heatwave ever recorded, lasting 13 consecutive days and affecting 55 percent of the region.
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