Report finds storms and floods affected 413,000 Europeans in record-hot year

Extreme weather events affected hundreds of thousands of Europeans last year as the continent experienced its hottest year on record, according to a climate report.

Floods and storms affected 413,000 people across Europe in 2024, with “high” floods recorded on 30% of the European river network and 12% crossing the “severe” flood threshold, the European State of the Climate report found.

The report, published by the EU’s Copernicus climate change service and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), documented 335 flood-related deaths, with more than 250 occurring during two catastrophic events in central Europe in September and eastern Spain in October.

“Every additional fraction of a degree” of temperature rise matters, said Celeste Saulo, director general of the WMO, calling for faster adaptation to a hotter world. “We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. And we need to go together”.

The report revealed that days with “strong”, “very strong” and “extreme heat stress” were the second-highest on record. South-eastern Europe experienced its longest heatwave in July, with more than half the region seared for 13 consecutive days.

Wildfires affected 42,000 people, with Portugal suffering particularly severe blazes in September that destroyed about 110,000 hectares in a single week, accounting for approximately one-quarter of Europe’s total burnt area.

“The report lays bare the pain Europe’s population is already suffering from extreme weather” at 1.3C of global heating above preindustrial levels, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London not involved in the study. “We’re on track to experience 3C by 2100.”

Researchers noted an “unusual” contrast between western and eastern Europe, with the west experiencing wet and cloudy conditions while the east was warm and sunny. The Thames in the UK and the Loire in France recorded their highest flows in a 33-year record during several months.

Glaciers in all regions experienced net ice loss, with those in Scandinavia and Svalbard losing more mass than ever previously recorded. The report also highlighted high temperatures north of the Arctic Circle and record sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean.

Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average but has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly than other major economies. The EU aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and is expected to announce a 90% reduction target for 2040 later this year.

Thomas Gelin, a climate campaigner at Greenpeace EU, said the report demonstrated political failure to hold fossil fuel companies accountable. “The only parts of Europe that aren’t being boiled dry are being washed away in floods,” he said.

(information from The Guardian)