Climate change is hurting Europe, but the emergence of renewable energy sources points to hope for the future

The State of the Climate in Europe 2022 report issued by WMO in collaboration with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service provided information on rising temperatures, falling precipitation, increasing wildfires, unprecedented melting of glaciers and the potential of renewable energy. The second edition of the Joint Report on the State of the Climate in Europe is part of an effort led by WMO to provide key climate data and information tailored to the specific needs of each region and to improve adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Dublin, 19 June 2023 – Climate change is harming Europe on a human, economic and environmental level, and Europe is rapidly warming. The year 2022 was marked by extreme heat, drought, and wildfires. Sea surface temperatures across Europe have reached new highs, accompanied by marine heat waves. In addition, the melting of glaciers was unprecedented.

The State of the Climate in Europe 2022 report, which was the second annual release in a series, was produced jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service..

It shows how Europe has warmed twice the global average since the 1980s, with far-reaching implications for the region’s socio-economic fabric and ecosystems. By 2022, Europe will be about 2.3°C warmer than the pre-industrial average (1850-1900) used as the baseline for the Paris Agreement on climate change.

But in a hopeful sign for the future, renewable energy generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time last year. Wind and solar power will produce 22.3% of the EU’s electricity in 2022, overtaking fossil fuels (20%).

“For the first time, more electricity has been generated by wind and solar power than from fossil fuels in the European Union. Increased use of renewable and low-carbon energy sources is essential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” says WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas: “ Climate services play a key role in ensuring the resilience of energy systems to climate-related shocks, in planning operations and in guiding actions to increase energy efficiency,” he said.

The report focuses specifically on energy and highlights that more extreme weather such as extreme heat, heavy rains and droughts have increasing impacts on supply, demand and infrastructure in Europe’s energy system.

The report was released in conjunction with the Sixth European Climate Change Conference in Dublin, Ireland, and was accompanied by an interactive report Map story.

“The record heat stress experienced by Europeans in 2022 was one of the main drivers behind the unusually high number of weather-related deaths in Europe. Unfortunately, it cannot be considered an isolated or exceptional case. Our current understanding of the climate,” explains Dr. Carlo Bontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. , that the system and its evolution show that these events are part of a pattern that will make extreme heat stresses more frequent and more intense across the region.

Based on information in the Emergency Database (EM-DAT), meteorological, hydrological and climatological hazards in Europe in 2022 resulted in 16,365 reported deaths and directly affected 156,000 people.

About 67 percent of the events were related to floods and storms. They accounted for most of the total economic damage, which totaled about $2 billion. More seriously, heat waves have killed more than 16,000 people than usual.

“2022 was the warmest year on record for many countries in western and southwestern Europe. The summer was the hottest on record: soaring temperatures exacerbated severe and widespread droughts, fueling violent fires resulting in a second The largest fire ever measured has degraded the region and led to thousands more heat-related deaths than usual, says Professor Taalas.

Note: Impact figures for some disaster events may be missing due to unavailability of data.

summary

Temperatures: Europe experienced the hottest summer. Several countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, have recorded their warmest year on record.

Europe’s average annual temperature in 2022 was between the second and fourth highest on record, with an anomaly of about 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average. This line is used as a reference A standard reference for comparing variations in temperature, precipitation, etc. to an average of 30 years, thus providing information to climate-sensitive sectors. Rainfall It was below average for large parts of the region in 2022. This was the fourth consecutive dry year in the Iberian Peninsula and the third consecutive dry year in the Alps and Pyrenees.

France experienced the driest January-September period. The UK and Uccle (Belgium) experienced the driest period between January and August since 1976, with far-reaching consequences for agriculture and energy production. Spain’s water reserves decreased to 41.9 percent of its total capacity on July 26, with lower capacity in some catchment areas.

Europe glaciers Approximately 880 cubic kilometers of ice were lost from 1997 to 2022. The Alps were hardest hit, with an average decrease in ice thickness of 34 metres. In 2022, glaciers in the Alps experience a new record low in a single year, due to lower winter precipitation, sweltering summers and dust clouds from the Sahara.

Greenland ice sheet 5,362 ± 527 Gt of ice were lost between 1972 and 2021, contributing about 14.9 mm to the average global sea level rise. According to the researchers, the ice sheet continued to lose mass through 2022.

mean sea surface temperatures Across the North Atlantic it was the warmest on record and large parts of the region’s oceans were affected by strong or extreme marine heat waves.

Surface ocean warming, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas, and the southern Arctic, has been more than three times the global average.

Marine heat waves lead to migration and mass extinction of species, the arrival of invasive species and the disruption of ecosystems and biodiversity.

energy

Climate variability and long-term climate change affect all aspects of the energy sector: demand, supply, and the infrastructure that ensures safe and reliable operation (the “grid”). Climate services and impact data are critical. The European Union has committed to increasing renewable energy production to at least 42.5 percent of total consumption by 2030 – nearly double the 2019 figure.

By 2022, wind and solar power in Europe will produce 22.3 percent of the EU’s electricity, surpassing for the first time fossil fuels (20 percent) and coal power (16 percent), due in part to a significant increase in solar power, According to the European Electricity Review by EMBER.

In addition, the annual solar radiation in 2022 was the highest since measurements began in 1983, 4.9 percent higher than the 1991-2020 average.

This highlights the importance of meteorological variables: solar radiation for solar cells, wind speed for wind power, and precipitation and runoff for hydropower.

In general, solar radiation is more available in southern Europe due to the angle of the sun and lower cloud cover. Wind energy potential is higher over the ocean, especially off the coasts of Ireland, Portugal and the Aegean Sea. Hydroelectricity is directly related to the topography of Europe.

The meteorological factors driving renewable energy potential are highly seasonal. The monthly mean wind speed can vary from -40 to +80 percent of the mean, precipitation is ± 30 percent, and solar radiation is about ± 15 percent.

The sun and wind tend to complement throughout the year: solar radiation is highest during the summer months, while wind intensity is usually higher in winter.

During the 30-year period 1991-2020, solar radiation increased, while wind speed and precipitation showed no noticeable trend.

Nuclear Energy

Globally, outages in nuclear power generation due to adverse weather conditions have increased over the past three decades, although they still constitute a very small proportion of total nuclear outages. In 2021, reported production losses related to weather accounted for about 0.33 percent of global nuclear energy production. Decreased river flows, increased temperatures and extreme heat are major factors.

Under long-term deteriorating climate scenarios, southern Europe may experience some of the largest global percentage increases in temperature extremes above 40°C and in the number of consecutive dry days. This finding, particularly for potential nuclear power plants in southern Europe, underscores the need for adaptation provisions in conjunction with rigorous safety reviews, if a decision is made to continue operating the plants.

climate services

Climate services—the provision and use of climate information in decision-making, including data collection, monitoring, analysis, and prediction and forecasting of climate variables—play a critical role in supporting the global energy transition to achieve net-zero emissions.

Climate services are important for site selection, resource assessment and financing. operation, maintenance and management of energy systems; electricity integration into the network; and assess the impact of energy systems.

They are also needed to ensure the resilience of energy systems to climate-related shocks and to guide energy efficiency measures.

According to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) survey conducted by WMO, 83 percent of European members reported providing energy climate services. However, less than half provide climate forecasts for the energy sector. Therefore, there is untapped potential in the NMHS to support the energy transition.

The World Meteorological Organization is the official voice of the United Nations system on weather, climate and water

About Copernicus and the ECMWF

Copernicus is part of the European Union’s space programme, which is funded by the European Union, and its Earth observation programme. It operates through six services: Atmospheric, Maritime, Land, Climate Change, and Security and Emergency. Provides freely available operational data and services for reliable, up-to-date information about our planet and its environment.

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) manages two services of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation programme: the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They also contribute to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), which is implemented by the European Union Joint Research Center (JRC).

C3S provides authoritative information on past, present and future climate, as well as tools to enable mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change by policymakers and businesses. C3S publishes its European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report and analysis for the previous year each year in April.

More info at https://climate.copernicus.eu/

for more information:
Nuria Lopez, Director of Press and Director of Communications. [email protected]
Mobile: +44 739 227 7523

The World Meteorological Organization The State of the Climate in Europe 2022 is the second edition of the annual climate report produced by the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Association for Europe (WMO-RA6) and the European Union’s Earth observation programme, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They include the contribution of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS), the WMO Regional Climate Center for Europe network, the Climate Change Services (C3S) of the Copernicus Organization, UN agencies and many experts and researchers from the region and around the world.

Claire Knowles, WMO Public Information Officer,[email protected].
Phone + 41-79-709 13 97