France experienced the driest period from January to September since 1976, according to a report published Monday by the World Meteorological Organization and the Copernicus service, which warns of “excess mortality linked to weather conditions”.
Since the 1980s, Europe has warmed at a rate of 0.5 degrees per decade, twice the global average, according to the “2022 Report on the State of the Climate in Europe”, published on Monday 19 June by the World Meteorological Organization and the Copernicus service. According to the two organizations, almost the entire European region recorded in 2022 an annual average temperature more than 0.5 degrees higher than the average established between 1991 and 2020.
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Europe even had its hottest summer. France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and even the United Kingdom recorded record annual temperatures during the summer. Added to this is below-average rainfall over much of the region. France experienced the driest January-September period since 1976. Spain’s water reserves plummeted to just 41.9% of their total capacity on July 26.
Sea surface temperature records
Last year was strongly marked by extreme heat, a summer drought and impressive forest fires. The two organizations therefore warn of a “weather-related excess mortality”, especially heat waves. According to this report, “the meteorological, hydrological and climatic hazards that occurred in Europe last year caused 16,365 deaths and directly affected 156,000 people”. In addition, floods and storms have caused significant economic damage, estimated at around US$2 billion in 2022.
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The report also reviews the sea surface temperature records broken in Europe last year. In the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and in the southern Arctic, rates of ocean surface warming have been more than three times the global average. In the North Atlantic, mean sea surface temperatures were the warmest on record.
Unprecedented melting of glaciers in 2022
The situation is also alarming on the side of the glaciers. The melting of glaciers was unprecedented in 2022, accelerated in particular by the very low amounts of snow in winter and a very hot summer. The glaciers of Europe have thus lost about 880 cubic kilometers of ice between 1997 and 2022. The Alps have been the most affected, with an average reduction in ice thickness of 34 meters.
Faced with this observation, the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus nevertheless observe a “a sign of hope for the future” with a greater share given to renewable energies. According to their report, wind and solar energy generated 22.3% of the European Union’s electricity in 2022, surpassing fossil fuels (20%) and coal (16%). This is the first time that renewables have produced more electricity than polluting fossil fuels in Europe. The organizations recall that it says that “The European Union has committed to increasing renewable energy production to at least 42.5% of total consumption by 2030, almost double 2019 levels”.