Temperatures in Europe are rising twice as fast as the global average, and this increase is faster than on any other continent, the report says. State of the European Climate 2022 ".

The Copernicus Climate Change Monitoring Service report shows that 2022 was the second warmest year in Europe since records began, at 0.9 degrees Celsius (ºC) above average, and the summer was the warmest on record at 1.4ºC above average. “Europe experienced its hottest summer on record, accompanied by several extreme events such as intense heat waves, droughts and widespread forest fires,” the document states. According to Copernicus, most of western Europe experienced heat waves and temperatures in the United Kingdom exceeded 40°C for the first time, in addition to the highest average surface temperatures in European seas.

WARNING

The report "State of the European Climate 2022" warns of the consequences that the extreme heat experienced in late spring and summer had on human health, highlighting that southern Europe experienced a record number of days with "very severe heat stress" due to extreme heat waves during the summer.The European Earth Observation Service also says that Europe is witnessing an increasing trend in the number of summer days with “severe” or “very severe” heat stress, and that “extreme heat stress” is already occurring in southern Europe. (TPN/Lusa)