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A joint report by scientists from the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union confirmed last year’s summer in Europe was the hottest on record, killing thousands, while warning such events could become more common.
The report on the state of the climate says Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, with temperatures rising around twice the global average since the 1980s.
A report released on Monday said about 16,000 people died in a European heatwave last year.
“Unfortunately, this cannot be considered a one-off event or a climate anomaly,” said Dr Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Center for Climate Change Services.
“Our current understanding of the climate system and its evolution tells us that these kinds of events are part of a pattern that will make extreme heat stress more frequent and intense across the region,” he said.
Scientists have warned that the world will see record heat as excess warming due to climate change and El Niño occur.
The reason why Europe is warming faster than other continents has to do with the fact that much of the continent is located in the sub-Arctic and Arctic — the fastest-warming regions on Earth — and changes in climate feedbacks, scientists say.
Severe and extreme marine heatwaves were reported last year in parts of the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas, while glacial melt was the highest on record, the report added.
Overall, average temperatures in Europe in 2022 are between the second and fourth warmest on record.
But in a so-called hopeful sign, renewable energy’s share of EU electricity (22.3%) surpassed polluting fossil gases (20%) for the first time last year.
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