According to the climate service Copernicus of the European Union (EU) and the World Meteorological Association (WMO), Europe’s temperatures are increasing at approximately double the global average pace, impacting every country and making it the continent experiencing the swiftest rise in temperatures. Their most recent report, issued on Monday, reveals that due to climate change exacerbation, Europe faced multiple extreme weather events in 2023, including widespread flooding and harsh heatwaves.
It alerts that since 2020, the three warmest years in European history have been recorded, with the decade’s hottest years all transpiring since 2007. There’s a steep year on year increase in detrimental health outcomes connected to extreme weather and climate incidents.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, stated that “In 2023, Europe experienced its largest ever wildfire, amid record-breaking wet conditions, devastating floods and intense marine heatwaves. As the temperatures continue to soar, the importance of our data for climate change impact preparation heightens.”
Data sets suggest that the past year was either the warmest or the second warmest on record, with above-average temperatures experienced in Europe for 11 months consecutively, marking the warmest September ever recorded. A similar pattern has been observed in Ireland.
It’s reported that Europe is experiencing an upsurge in days with considerable or severe heat stress. In 2023, the continent saw a record number of days with severe heat stress which led to a rise in heat-related deaths by about 30% in the last 20 years. The analysis concludes that heat-related mortality has grown in approximately 94% of the monitored European regions.
According to the report, there is generally an acceptable awareness of the climate threat and its health implications, but low heat-risk perception among the public, vulnerable groups and some healthcare providers.
In June, an ‘extreme’ marine heatwave, which in some parts reached ‘beyond extreme’, affected the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland and around the United Kingdom. Sea surface temperatures soared up to five degrees above average. The report suggests that across Europe, the average sea surface temperature for the ocean was the highest ever recorded.
In the previous year, Europe observed a seven per cent rise in rainfall compared to the average, as indicated in a report. December had a record-breaking river flow rate, with almost 25 per cent of the river network experiencing unusually high levels. In 2023, a third of the river system had river flows surpassing the high flood threshold, and 16 per cent went beyond the severe flood threshold.
The report also revealed that renewable energy made up a record 43 per cent of Europe’s electricity generation last year. There was a surge in storm activity from October to December, leading to greater potential for wind power, especially in the north-west Atlantic region including Ireland. However, solar power generation fell short of the average in northwestern and central Europe while it outdid the average in southern Europe.
Most regions in Europe had fewer snow days than normal, particularly central Europe and the Alps during winter and spring. The Alps reported remarkable glacier ice loss, due to a decrease in winter snow accumulation and extreme summer melt caused by heatwaves. Over 2022 and 2023, the Alps’ glaciers lost nearly 10 per cent of their remaining volumes.
Celeste Saulo, the WMO secretary general, called attention to the higher cost of not taking climate action compared to taking it. She asserted, as substantiated in the report, that society needs to leverage science to find solutions.
Mauro Facchini, who leads the European Commission’s earth observation unit, drew attention to the substantial changes happening on our planet as evidenced by the Copernicus findings. These crucial data might be disturbing, but they also play a significant role in achieving the goal to transition to sustainable energy, diminishing net greenhouse gas emissions, and making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
The report mentioned preliminary estimates for 2023 indicating the unfortunate loss of 63 lives due to storms, 44 to floods, and an equivalent number to wildfires. Economic damages due to weather- and climate-related occurrences in 2023 were projected to exceed €13.4 billion.
Approximately 1.6 million people in Europe were impacted by flooding, leading to 81 per cent of the year’s economic damages due to climate impacts. While the summer of 2023 wasn’t the hottest on record, it exhibited instances of extreme weather conditions with fluctuations in temperature and precipitation throughout different areas of the continent and from one month to another. The extended summer period (June to September) was characterised by an amalgamation of heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods.
The study highlights the deep implications of thermal strain on public wellbeing. Thermal strain is gauged by observing the body’s response to elevated temperatures in combination with other elements such as moisture and wind velocity. Continued contact with thermal strain can intensify ongoing health issues and enhance the likelihood of heat fatigue and heatstroke, especially amongst susceptible groups.