On the 22nd local time, the World Meteorological Organization, together with the EU climate monitoring agency and the Copernicus Climate Change Service, jointly released the 2023 "State of the European Climate Report".
Extreme weather due to climate change continues to affect all of Europe, the report notes. In 2023, weather- and climate-related economic losses in Europe are expected to exceed €13.4 billion.
Screenshot of the State of the Climate Europe report
According to statistics, 2023 was the hottest or second hottest year on record in Europe, with average sea surface temperatures in European seas reaching their highest level on record. Last year, there were 11 months of above-average temperatures, including the hottest September on record.
Over the past 20 years, heat-related mortality has increased by about 30 per cent, and in the monitored European region, an estimated 94 per cent of regions have seen an increase in heat-related deaths.
In addition, precipitation in Europe increased by about 7% above average in 2023, with one-third of the European river network flowing above the "high" flood threshold and 16% above the "severe" flood threshold.
In 2023, most of Europe will have fewer than average snowfall days, especially in Central Europe and the Alps in winter and spring.
The ice in the Alps is unusually reduced, and the snow cover is below average in winter. In 2022 and 2023, glaciers in the Alps lost about 10% of their remaining volume.
Screenshot of the State of the Climate in Europe report: The number of snowfall days in the winter of Europe in 2023 is shown on the left, and the number of snowfall days in the winter of 2023 is compared with the average of 1991-2020 on the right. Shades of gray indicate more snowy days than average, and shades of green indicate fewer snowy days than average.
2023 is also the sixth warmest year on record in the Arctic and the fifth hottest year for Arctic land.
Notably, the five hottest years on record on Arctic land all occurred after 2016. For most of 2023, Arctic sea ice extent is below average.
The report also notes that Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising about twice as fast as the global average.
The hottest decade on record in Europe all occurred after 2007, and the three hottest years after 2020.
The report warns that Europe will experience a longer and more severe heatwave in the future, which, combined with an aging population and more people moving to cities, could have "serious impacts" on public health.
Screenshot of the official website of the World Meteorological Organization
Material source丨Global Information Broadcasting "Live World"
Reporter丨Zhu He
Editor丨Yuan Ding Lin Wei
Signing and review丨Du Huiqin Jiang Aimin