Europe, the fastest-warming continent on Earth, is bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. The year 2024 was the hottest ever recorded in this part of the world – as it was globally – with record temperatures in central, eastern and southeastern regions. Storms were often violent, and floods became widespread, resulting in at least 335 deaths and affecting 413,000 people, according to the European State of the Climate report, published on Tuesday, April 15, by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Europe is warming "twice as fast" as the global average, said Samantha Burgess, climate strategy leader at C3S. Various factors are at play: The region includes part of the Arctic, where temperatures rise the fastest on Earth, changes in atmospheric circulation promote more frequent summer heatwaves and efforts to combat air pollution reduce aerosols that partially reflect sunlight.
This warming, due to human activities, results in more frequent and intense extremes. In 2024, Europe experienced its most extensive floods since 2013. Nearly a third of the river network exceeded a flood threshold classified as "high," meaning events that can recur every five years. Some rivers, like the Thames in the United Kingdom and the Loire in France, recorded flow rates not seen in 33 years, in spring and autumn.
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