Europe has warmed twice as much as the global average in the last three decades

Temperatures in Europe have risen more than twice the global average in the last 30 years.

In addition, it is the region of the planet in which warming is going faster.

This is the most striking conclusion of the report presented on Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service, dependent on the European Union.

The study reviews the state of the climate in Europe last year, but also broadens the focus to the last three decades - the period between 1991 and 2021 - to conclude that "Europe has warmed at a rate (0.5 degrees per decade) which is more than double the global average.

As a result of this increase in temperatures, 30 meters of ice thickness has been lost in alpine glaciers between 1997 and 2021. Also, "the Greenland ice sheet is melting, which contributes to accelerating the rise in the level of the sea”, add both institutions in a joint statement.

"Europe presents a live picture of a world that is warming and reminds us that even the most prepared societies are not safe from the impacts of extreme weather events," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, who He has urged that Europe play "a key role in achieving a carbon-neutral society by mid-century and thus fulfill the Paris Agreement."

The report, which is based on the study that Copernicus presented in April of this year also on the state of the climate in 2021, comes a few days before the start of the climate summit, which starts on Sunday and which this year is held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh.

The document recalls that last year's high-impact weather and climate events caused hundreds of deaths, directly affected more than half a million people and caused economic damage that exceeded 50,000 million dollars.

"Around 84% of these phenomena were floods or storms," ​​adds the study.

But the report also highlights some positive points.

“It's not all bad news.

Several countries in Europe have been very successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions”, add these two agencies.

"In particular, in the European Union, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 31% between 1990 and 2020," says the joint statement from Copernicus and the WMO.

In addition, the EU has set itself a target for 2030 of a net reduction of 55% compared to 1990 levels. “European society is vulnerable to climate variability and change, but Europe is also at the forefront of the international effort to mitigate climate change and develop innovative solutions to adapt to the new climate with which Europeans will have to live", said Carlo Buontempo,

Regarding the future, this report gathers the conclusions of the last great scientific analysis of the IPCC, the panel of experts of the United Nations, which already predicted that "catastrophes related to meteorology, climate and water will increase".

In addition, it warned that "regardless of future levels of global warming, temperatures will increase in all European areas at a rate higher than the average global temperature variation, similar to what has been observed in the past."

It also noted that "the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events, including marine heat waves, have increased in recent decades and are expected to continue to grow regardless of the greenhouse gas emissions scenario,"

just as "a decrease in summer rainfall in the Mediterranean that will spread to the northern regions" was forecast.

Lastly, IPCC estimates suggest that "extreme rainfall and flooding by flash floods increase with levels of global warming greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius in all regions, except the Mediterranean."

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