Europe has been named the fastest-warming continent in the world in a UN-led annual report.
The UN-led European State of the Climate 2024, which included contributions from about 100 scientists and experts, found that last year was the warmest on record for the continent as countries were hit by clear climate change impacts, extreme weather and record temperatures.
Released on Tuesday by the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the report details a year of extremes.
Storms were often severe, and flooding was the most widespread since 2013, claiming at least 335 lives and affecting around 413,000 people, according to the paper
There was a striking east-west contrast in climate conditions, with extremely dry and warm conditions in the east compared to warm but wet conditions in the west, the experts said.
They found that Europe is one of the regions with the largest projected increase in flood risk, and a global warming of 1.5C could result in 30,000 annual deaths in Europe due to extreme heat.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said: “This report highlights that Europe is the fastest-warming continent and is experiencing serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change.
“Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet.”
According to the paper, 30 per cent of the European river network exceeded the “high” flood threshold during the year and 12 per cent exceeded the “severe” flood threshold.
The findings also showed record-high annual temperatures in almost half of the continent and record-high sea surface temperatures in the region, with 0.7C above average.
The average temperature increase was particularly steep for the Mediterranean Sea, at 1.2C above average.
Elsewhere, the numbers of days with “strong”, “very strong” and “extreme heat stress” were found to all be the second highest on record.
In September, fires in Portugal burned around 110,000 hectares in one week, representing around a quarter of Europe’s total annual burnt area, while an estimated 42,000 people were affected by wildfires in Europe, according to the findings.
But for cold extremes, there was a record low number of days with at least a “strong cold stress”.
The area of European land that experienced fewer than three months (90 days) of frost days was also found to be the largest on record.
And all European regions saw a loss of ice, with glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard seeing their highest rates of mass loss on record, the experts said.
In general, Central Europe is one of the regions in the world where glaciers are shrinking the fastest as the UN calls for the preservation of glaciers in 2025.
The report also looked at renewable energy progress, finding clean electricity generation reached a record high in 2024, compared to the previous record of 43 per cent in 2023, reflecting Europe’s decarbonisation efforts.
Florence Rabier, director-general at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which implements the C3S, said: “The 2024 report reveals that almost one third of the river network exceeded the high flood threshold, and heat stress continues to increase in Europe, highlighting the importance of building greater resilience.
“With 51 per cent of European cities now having a dedicated climate adaptation plan, this underscores the value of our information, which is rooted in scientific excellence, to better support decision-making around climate adaptation.”
Ms Saulo said: “Adaptation is a must. WMO and its partners are therefore intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large to be more resilient.
“We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster, and we need to go together.”
