State of the Climate in Europe 2022

Description

Climate change is taking a major human, economic and environmental toll in Europe, the fastest-warming continent of the world.

The year 2022 was marked by extreme heat, drought and wildfires. Sea surface temperatures around Europe reached new highs, accompanied by marine heatwaves. Glacier melt was unprecedented.

The State of the Climate in Europe 2022 report, the second in an annual series, was produced jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

It shows how Europe has been warming twice as much as the global average since the 1980s, with far-reaching impacts on the region’s socio-economic fabric and ecosystems. In 2022, Europe was approximately 2.3 °C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average used as a baseline for the Paris Agreement on climate change. But, in a sign of hope for the future, renewable energy generated more electricity than polluting fossil fuels for the first time last year. Wind and solar power generated 22.3% of European Union (EU) electricity in 2022, overtaking fossil fuel (20%).

The report has a special focus on energy and highlights how more extreme weather, including intense heat, heavy precipitation and droughts have growing implications for the supply, demand and infrastructure of Europe’s energy system.

The report provides the status of key climate indicators using the WMO and partner organizations operational monitoring systems and latest data and information on impacts, risks and policy from United Nations agencies. It addresses specific physical science, socio-economic and policy aspects that respond to Members needs in the fields of climate monitoring, climate change and climate services.

The report also makes use of latest findings of the IPCC reports and Copernicus European State of the Climate (ESOTC).

 

 

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