Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, report says

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at about twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported on April 22, and human health , warned of melting glaciers and the impact on economic activity.

The United Nations' World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's climate change agency Copernicus say in a joint report that the African continent has the potential to shift to renewable resources such as wind, solar and hydropower in response to the impacts of climate change. There is an opportunity to develop targeted strategies to accelerate the climate change.

The authority said in last year's European Climate Report that the continent generated 43% of its electricity from renewable sources last year, up from 36% the year before. Europe generated more energy from renewables than fossil fuels for the second year in a row.

The latest five-year average temperature shows that Europe is now 2.3C warmer than pre-industrial levels, while the global average is 1.3C warmer, the report said.

“Europe has continued to experience rising temperatures and extreme weather events this year, including heat stress caused by record temperatures, wildfires, heat waves, loss of ice from glaciers, and insufficient snowfall,” EU Executive Director Copernicus said. said Elisabeth Hamdoush, deputy division chief. commission.

The report is a continental complement to the WMO's flagship Global Climate Report, which has been published annually for 30 years, and this year confirms that the world is not doing enough to combat the effects of climate change. It was accompanied by an “emergency alert” warning that there was no such thing. global warming.

Copernicus reported that March was the 10th consecutive month of record monthly temperatures. The average sea surface temperature of oceans across Europe will reach its highest annual level in 2023, according to a European report.

The report focuses on the impact of high temperatures on human health this year, noting that heat-related deaths are increasing across the continent. Last year, more than 150 lives were directly lost related to storms, floods and wildfires. Weather and climate-related economic losses in 2023 are estimated at more than €13.4 billion.

Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, said: “In 2023, hundreds of thousands of people will be affected by extreme weather events, causing severe damage on a continental level, with an estimated cost of at least tens of billions of euros.'' “It has been done,” he said.

Extreme weather conditions have caused heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and floods, the report said. High temperatures are reducing glacial ice on continents, including the Alps, with about 10% of remaining glaciers lost in the past two years.