Climate scientists are starting to feel the heat in Europe, where atmospheric temperatures have increased at more than twice the global average over the past 30 years — the highest of any continent in the world.

The 2021 State of the Climate in Europe report, released by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, documents data on rising temperatures, land and marine heatwaves, extreme weather, changing precipitation patterns and retreating ice and snow. The analysis indicates that temperatures over Europe have warmed significantly over the 1991-2021 period, at an average rate of about 0.5° C per decade.

Alpine glaciers have lost 30 m in ice thickness during this time and melting of the Greenland ice sheet is contributing to accelerating sea level rise. In 2021, high impact weather and climate events such as floods and storms led to hundreds of fatalities, directly affected more than half a million people and caused economic damages exceeding $50 billion.

Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union declined 31% between 1990 and 2020, with a net 55% reduction target for 2030. However, regardless of future levels of global warming, temperatures are predicted to rise in all European areas at a rate exceeding global mean temperature changes, similar to past observations.

To contact the author of this article, email shimmelstein@globalspec.com