Six heat wavesone of which the longest ever recorded in southeastern Europe, widespread floods and average record temperatures for almost half of the continent. The new report “European climate state 2024“, Published by Copernicus climate change service (C3S) and fromWorld Meteorological Organization (OMM), is a cry of alarm based on precise data, in -depth analyzes and scenarios to say the least disturbing.
2024 is confirmed as the hottest year ever recorded in Europe. But reducing everything to a “heat record” would be misleading: the numbers tell a much more complex reality. Almost a third of the European river network has exceeded the “high” flood thresholds, while extreme weather events hit 413,000 peoplecausing at least 335 victims.
“Do you think that 1.3 ° C of heating are safe? Friederike OttoClimatologist of the Center for Environmental Policy and Co-Director of World Weather Attribion of Imperial College London. “But we are on the right way to reach 3 ° C by 2100. Just think of floods in Spain, fires in Portugal or the summer heat waves last year to understand how devastating this level of heating would be”.
Europe split in two: the East-West contrast
One of the most surprising aspects of the relationship is the net Climate contrast between the east and west of the continent. On the one hand, extreme drought and hot record conditions. On the other, incessant rains and serious floods. In September, the Boris storm It overwhelmed large areas of Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy, leaving behind destruction and victims. Shortly thereafter, Spain was scourged by torrential rains who devastated the province of Valencia.
“The 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded in Europe. We observed the longest heat wave in southeastern Europe and a loss of record glacial mass in Scandinavia and the devices,” he said Carlo Buontempodirector of the Copernicus service on the climate change of the UCMWF. “But 2024 was also a year of strong climatic contrasts between Eastern and Western Europe. The European state of the climate is a treasure of quality information on our evolution climate. Learning to use data and climate information to inform our decisions should become a priority for all of us”.
This climatic polarization also had profound effects on agriculture, infrastructure and public health, exacerbating territorial inequalities and increasing the economic and social costs of climate change.
An increasingly vulnerable continent
“Europe, and in particular the Mediterranean region, are confirmed as ‘hot spots’ for heating and climate change,” he says Antonello Pasiniphysical of the climate of the CNR. “The last two years have been particularly critical and this may also be due to the combination of a natural variability of the climate with anthropic forcing. However, the latter, in particular fossil combustion with greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and partly unpatientable agriculture, continue to increase globally, with a human imprint on heating that shows no sign of decreasing“.
Summer has inflicted onEurope Sudorientale 13 consecutive days of oppressive heatthe longest period of extreme heat ever recorded in the region, with 66 days of “strong heat stress” and 23 tropical nights. 60% of Europe lived multiple days of the average with conditions of “strong heat stress” and tropical nights – when temperatures do not go below 20 ° C. These conditions are not only annoying: they put health at risk, especially of elderly and fragile subjects.
According to Otto, it is “frankly crazy to continue to rely on imported fossil fuels – the main cause of climate change – when the renewable energy They offer a cheaper and clean alternative. The EU cannot afford to put its climate commitments in the background. He must guide the charge and accelerate the transition to a policy based on concrete data, which actually helps low -income people and not oligarchs “.
Heat and ice: two sides of the same crisis
In the meantime, European glaciers are disappearing at alarming rhythms. The regions of the Scandinavia and of Abbish They recorded the largest loss of glacial mass ever detected, with an average reduction in the thickness of 1.8 meters in Scandinavia and 2.7 meters at the Almabard. Central Europe is one of the regions of the world in which glaciers are reducing more quickly.
Also the fires They left their mark: in September, those in Portugal burned around 110,000 hectares in one week, equal to a quarter of the area burned annually throughout Europe. It is estimated that around 42,000 people were affected by fires on the continent.
The temperature of the marine surface was no different: for the whole year, that of the European region was the highest ever recorded, with 0.7 ° C above average and 1.2 ° C above average in the Mediterranean Sea.
A positive signal: the race of renewables
Despite everything, an encouraging figure emerges from the report: in 2024, 45% of electricity in Europe was produced by renewable sourcesthe historical maximum compared to 43% of 2023
European cities are moving: 51% now have a climate adaptation plan, double compared to 26% in 2018. As pointed out Elisabeth Hamdouchdeputy responsible for the observation of the land of the European Commission: “This joint relationship C3S-UMM is a milestone, which exploits the best of the resources and observation services of the EU of the EU of Copernicus and the knowledge of the experts of the community.”
Pasini concludes with a warning: “In this situation, it is certainly necessary to adapt to the extreme events that, given the inertia of the climate, we will find ourselves in the next decades, but we must also act quickly for the mitigation and the drastic reduction of emissions, otherwise we could come to scenarios in which it would be very difficult to defend yourself with adaptation“.
The general secretary of the OMM, Celeste Saulunderlines the importance of a coordinated action: “Omm and its partners are therefore intensifying the efforts to strengthen early alert systems and climatic services, to help decision makers and society in general to be more resilient. We are making progress, but but We have to go further and faster, and we have to do it together“.
