Europe endures hottest year in 2024, WMO and C3S report reveal
Eiffel tower on a fiery sunny day, Paris, France. (Adobe Stock Photo)
In 2024, Europe experienced its hottest year on record, with deadly floods and a prolonged heatwave leading to the continent’s most extreme climate conditions in over a decade, according to a joint report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on April 15.
Europe remains the world’s fastest-warming continent, experiencing “serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change,” the European State of the Climate 2024 report said.
“Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies, and to the planet. Adaptation is a must,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
Widespread flooding in ‘hottest year’
According to the report, 2024 brought the most widespread flooding in Europe since 2013, with almost one-third of the river network exceeding the “high” flood threshold.
At least 335 people lost their lives, and 413,000 were affected by severe storms and floods, which caused an estimated €18 billion ($20.4 billion) in damages, with 85% of the flooding.
The report also points to a dramatic rise in heat-related stress. Europe saw its second-highest number of days with “strong,” “very strong,” and “extreme heat stress,” with nearly 60% of the continent affected.
Southeastern Europe endured its longest heatwave on record in July, lasting 13 consecutive days and affecting 55% of the region.
“These extreme events led to an estimated 18 billion euros of damages, 85% of which is attributed to flooding,” Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of C3S, said during the press conference, Health Policy Watch reported.
“We observed the longest heatwave in southeastern Europe and record glacier mass loss in Scandinavia and Svalbard. But 2024 was also a year of marked climate contrasts between eastern and western Europe,” said Carlo Buontempo, the director of C3S.
The year’s climate extremes also led to record glacier losses across all European regions.
“Glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard in 2024 experienced their highest rates of mass loss on record and saw the largest annual mass loss of all glacier regions globally,” the report noted, with Svalbard losing an average of 2.7 meters (8.8 feet) in thickness.
