The average temperature across Europe in the past five years was nearly two degrees higher than that of the second half in the 19th century, when human greenhouse gas emissions began. This means that Europe is warming faster than the global average of 1.1 degrees. This is reported by Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation program.
In addition, according to the measurements 2019 in Europe was the hottest year ever and eleven of the twelve hottest years fell after the year 2000. In an extensive report, the climate department of Copernicus describes the situation of last year, in relation to other years. Satellite data and measurements by ground stations were used for this, in combination with weather models.
Cause still unknown
It is not yet clear how Europe is warming faster than the rest of the world. That says the Dutchman Richard Engelen of the European Copernicus Atmosphere Service, which is located at the European Weather Center (ECMWF) in Reading, UK. “The world is not heating up at the same rate everywhere. The area around the North Pole, for example, is going much faster. Research is currently being conducted into the cause of faster global warming in Europe.”
KNMI climate researcher Peter Siegmund is also unable to explain the rapid European warming. “The oceans are heating up slower than the world average, so the continents are faster. The world has been 1.1 degrees warmer than preindustrial (1850 – 1900) in the past five years, while the continents have been 1.7 degrees warmer on average. Europe is warming the most on the continents, which is very special. “
Record amount of Greenland ice cream melted
Other important observations in the Copernicus report are about the rain and Greenland. Last November was one of the wettest November months ever recorded, in which it rained four times more than usual in Western and Southern Europe. The polar region in Europe was colder than in previous years. Nevertheless, the summer heat waves created a record amount of melted ice in Greenland.
“Last winter it was colder than average in Greenland, especially on the east side of Greenland,” says Engelen. “But if you look at the whole year, the temperature was higher than usual. Especially in the summer it was generally a lot warmer.”
It indicates how difficult it is to interpret temperature measurements in a limited area. And what applies to the temperature also applies to precipitation. Although there was heavy rainfall in Western and Southern Europe, rainfall across the continent was at an average level.
Important for many sectors
The report provides data relevant to sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and security. “We want to specifically show the situation for Europe. We hope that people will understand how the climate in European countries is really changing,” says Engelen. “How the temperature changes, and the precipitation. We show the data, so that sectors can learn even better how to deal with this.”
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