Strong winds and high temperatures caused wildfires to spread in Athens, Greece. (File photo)
New data released jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirm fears that 2023 will be the hottest or second hottest year on record in Europe.
The shocks of climate change, which have brought record damage and suffering to millions of people in Europe in 2023, will be a new normal that countries must adapt to as a priority, the World Meteorological Organization said today.
In fact, this has led to record-breaking days of "extreme heat stress" across Europe, with "an upward trend" in the number of "intense heat stress" days on the continent and "longer" summers from June to September, with heat waves, wildfires, droughts and floods raging.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, heat-related mortality in Europe has increased by about 30% over the past 20 years. It is estimated that in 94% of monitored European regions, the number of heat-related deaths has increased.
A disgraceful record
While there are no accurate estimates of heat-related deaths in 2023, the World Meteorological Organization notes that between 55,000 and 72,000 people died from heatwaves in 2003, 2010 and 2022.
The State of the Climate in Europe 2023 report reflects the increasingly widespread climate change shocks on a global scale, but the data is particularly striking in the region, as the continent is warming the fastest, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said: "The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our generation. The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of inaction is even higher. As this report shows, we need to use science to provide solutions for society. ”
Researchers went back a decade and found that some members of the public and health care providers had only a "low risk perception" of the dangers of heat stroke. In response, early warning systems, including the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Climate Centre, Climate Watch, aim to raise awareness of extreme weather events and encourage people to be prepared.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, there were 11 months of above-average land temperatures in Europe in 2023, with September being the hottest month on record.
The report notes that precipitation in Europe in 2023 was 7% above average, and European river flows reached record levels in December, with almost a quarter of rivers flowing "unusually high". This means that one-third of Europe's river flows exceed the "high" flood threshold, and nearly one in seven exceed the "severe" flood threshold.
Sea temperature soars 'beyond extremes'
Record sea surface temperatures across Europe also reflect a deeply worrying warming trend on land, with a shocking "marine heatwave" in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland and around the UK in June. The World Meteorological Organization noted that the heat wave was classified as an "extreme" event, and in some areas even "beyond extremes", with sea surface temperatures 5 degrees Celsius above average.
"The average sea surface temperature for the entire European ocean is the hottest on record for the whole year," the World Meteorological Organization said. The highest annual mean sea surface temperatures on record were recorded over parts of the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic. ”
The report, which focuses on sustainability and resilience to the shocks of climate change, notes that Europe is generating a record amount of electricity using renewable technologies.
Above-average wind power generation in Europe in 2023 is linked to higher-than-normal storm activity from October to December. Hydroelectric power generation is associated with similarly above-average precipitation and river flows.
However, solar panel generation is below average in northwestern and central Europe, but above average in southwestern Europe, southern Europe, and Scandinavia.
Fewer snow days
The World Meteorological Organization's latest State of the Climate report also confirms speculation that much of Europe has fewer than average snowfall days, especially in Central Europe and the Alps in winter and spring.
This has led to an "abnormal" drop in glacier ice in the Alps, while the summer heatwave has made the situation worse by melting snow and ice, with glaciers declining by about 10% between 2022 and 2023.
Arctic shock
The 2023 data has done little to alleviate concerns about the Earth's poles. It was the sixth warmest year on record for the Arctic and the fifth hottest for Arctic land. "The five warmest years on record on Arctic land all occurred after 2016," the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. The report also notes that for most of 2023, Arctic sea ice remains in a range of below-average fluctuations.
The ongoing threat of wildfires
The total carbon emissions from wildfires in the subarctic and Arctic regions in 2023 were the second-highest on record, and were linked to high-latitude wildfires, most of which occurred between May and September in Canada, the World Meteorological Organization said.
