Europe experiences warmest summer on record

11th January 2023


Luis graterol u AR Ov Yw9 W Ds unsplash

Related Topics

Author

Chris Seekings

Last summer was the warmest in Europe since records began in 1979, with several intense and prolonged heatwaves leading to problems in agriculture and the energy sector.

That is according to new data from the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service, which also shows that last year was the second-warmest ever recorded in Europe, surpassed only by 2020.

In addition, the EU agency’s findings reveal that extreme drought resulted in the highest emissions ever from wildfires in the EU and Britain last summer.

Commenting on the findings, IEMA CEO, Sarah Mukherjee MBE, said: “The record-breaking temperatures from last year are yet another reminder of the need to rapidly cut emissions globally and adapt to increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

"Floods, droughts and temperatures are all set to intensify across Europe and beyond over the coming decades, so it essential that policymakers focus on adaptation now to prevent widespread destruction and suffering in the future."

Globally, the world experienced its fifth-warmest year on record in 2022, according to the findings, surpassed only by 2016, 2020, 2019 and 2017.

The annual average temperature was 0.3°C above the reference period of 1991-2020, which equates to approximately 1.2°C higher than during the 1850-1900 period typically used as a proxy for the pre-industrial era.

This makes 2022 the eighth year in a row with temperatures more than 1°C above the pre-industrial level.

Meanwhile, working in conjunction with the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the researchers also found that atmospheric greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2022.

Carbon dioxide concentrations rose by approximately 2.1 ppm (parts per million), while methane rose by around 12 (parts per billion). This resulted in an annual average for 2022 of approximately 417 ppm for carbon dioxide, and 1894 ppb for methane.

For both gases, this is the highest concentrations from the satellite record, and by including other records, the highest levels for over 2 million years for carbon dioxide, and over 800 000 years for methane.

CAMS director, Vincent-Henri Peuch, warned: “Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, are the main drivers of climate change and we can see from our monitoring activities that atmospheric concentrations are continuing to rise each year with no signs of slowing.”

Image credit: Unsplash

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

Multinational corporations are undermining their net-zero commitments with excessive air travel and no plans to reduce ‘the low hanging fruit’ of carbon footprints, a study by Transport & Environment has found.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

Large businesses across the world are avoiding climate action due to fear they will be called out for getting their work wrong, according to a new Carbon Trust report.

29th February 2024

Read more

A thought-provoking discussion on how storytelling can change the world took place in Central London last night, alongside an exclusive sneak preview of an upcoming IEMA film series.

29th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close