WMO Climate Report: Warmest Year And Record Rainfall In Europe In 2024

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Europe faced a stark east-west climate divide last year: it was too wet in the west and too dry in the east, according to a new report. This content was published on April 15, 2025 - 10:21 4 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Deutsch de Europa war 2024 extrem nass und trocken gleichzeitig Original Read more: Europa war 2024 extrem nass und trocken gleichzeiti

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At the same time, it was too hot in a large part of the centre of the continent. This is according to the European State of the Climate 2024 report, a joint study by the EU Copernicus programme's climate change service and the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

According to the report, at least 335 people lost their lives in severe storms and floods, and 413,000 suffered the consequences.

It was already clear that the European continent and the entire world experienced the highest average temperature since records began in 2024. According to WMO, the global temperature in 2024 was 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level (1850-1900). In Europe it was +2.92C, Copernicus reported. Record heat was recorded in central, eastern and south-Eastern Europe in 2024.

Why Europe is warming the fastest

Europe is the continent that is warming the fastest. Copernicus cites several reasons: the high proportion of land in the Arctic which is warming faster than any other region on Earth, the change in atmospheric circulation, which favours summer heatwaves, and the decline in aerosol emissions. These are tiny particles in the air that reflect sunlight and can thus prevent heat.

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