Europe is the fastest-warming continent, and the impacts of climate change across the continent are clear. The year 2024 was the warmest on record, with central, eastern and southeastern regions recording the highest temperatures, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
According to the report, severe storms and flooding were widespread, claiming at least 335 lives and affecting an estimated 413,000 people. During the year, there was a striking east-west contrast in climate conditions, with extremely dry and often record-warm conditions in the east, and warm but wet conditions in the west.
- Temperature: 2024 was the warmest year for Europe, with record-high annual temperatures in almost half of the continent.
- Sea Surface Temperature: For the year as a whole, sea surface temperatures for the European region was the highest, at 0.7°C above average, and for the Mediterranean Sea, at 1.2°C above average.
- Rainfall: There was a distinct east-west contrast in precipitation conditions. Western Europe saw one of the ten wettest years in the analysed period since 1950.
- Flooding: Europe experienced the most widespread flooding since 2013. Almost one third of the river network saw flooding that exceeded at least the ‘high’ flood threshold. Storms and flooding affected an estimated 413,000 people in Europe, with at least 335 lives lost.
- Heat stress: The numbers of days with ‘strong’, ‘very strong’ and ‘extreme heat stress’ were all the second highest on record. 60% of Europe saw more days than average with at least ‘strong heat stress’.
- Renewable energy: The proportion of electricity generation by renewables in Europe also reached a record high in 2024, at 45%
- Cold extremes: The area of European land that experienced fewer than three months (90 days) of frost days was the largest on record (~69%, the average is 50%).
- Cold stress: There was a record low number of days with at least ‘strong cold stress’.
- Glaciers: All European regions saw a loss of ice; glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard saw their highest rates of mass loss on record.
- Wildfires: In September, fires in Portugal burned around 110,000 ha (1100 km2) in one week, representing around a quarter of Europe’s total annual burnt area. An estimated 42,000 people were affected by wildfires in Europe.
Florence Rabier, Director-General at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) said, “The 2024 report reveals that almost one third of the river network exceeded the high flood threshold, and heat stress continues to increase in Europe, highlighting the importance of building greater resilience. With 51 per cent of European cities now having a dedicated climate adaptation plan, this underscores the value of our information, which is rooted in scientific excellence, to better support decision-making around climate adaptation.”
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent and is experiencing serious impacts from extreme weather and climate change. Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
Thirty per cent of the European river network exceeded the ‘high’ flood threshold during the year, while 12 per cent exceeded the ‘severe’ flood threshold. In September, Storm Boris affected hundreds of thousands of people, with flooding, fatalities and damage in parts of Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania and Italy.
Southeastern Europe experienced its longest heatwave on record in July 2024, lasting 13 consecutive days and affecting 55% of the region. There were recordbreaking numbers of days with at least ‘strong heat stress’ (66) and tropical nights (23) in southeastern Europe during summer.
In 2024, people living in different parts of Europe experienced very different weather and climate with a distinct east-west contrast of dry, sunny and extremely warm conditions in the east and cloudier, wetter and less warm conditions in the west.
Heat stress days and tropical nights are increasing in Europe – 2024 saw the second-highest number of heat stress days and tropical nights.
Data shows that glaciers in all European regions saw a loss of ice with Central European glaciers shrinking the fastest. Glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard in 2024 experienced their highest rates of mass loss.
