U.N.-EU report finds Europe warming twice the pace of rest of world
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The federal government announced new actions Wednesday to help all communities throughout the United States fight extreme heat this summer. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development unveiled a website and webinar with resources and guidance to prepare and respond to "extreme heat which affects all of us." (File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo)
April 22 (UPI) -- Europe saw its warmest year on record in 2023, both on land and sea, with climate change driving the rate of warming at double the global average, according to a new international report published Monday.
Understanding climate change, the impacts of which were felt across the continent with millions of people affected by extreme weather events, was critical to deliver on the priority to develop mitigation and adaptation measures, the Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organization said in a joint news release.
Last year was either the joint warmest or second warmest on record, depending on the data used, with a rise in adverse health impacts related to extreme weather and climate events and exceptional Alpine glacier ice loss, despite renewables making up a record 43% of electricity generation, their 2023 European State of the Climate report found.
People across Europe fled to the water or the parks to cope with a widespread heat wave on July 24 and July 25. All-time record high temperatures were smashed across Europe.
The report added that while most global regions were warming, the European continent was warming the fastest with temperatures rising at around twice the global average rate and the three warmest years ever all in the past four years and the 10 warmest since 2007.
Temperatures were higher than average for 11 months of last year, including the warmest September on record, and a record number of days were categorized as having "extreme heat stress" amid an upward trend.
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