Climate change is particularly evident in countries such as Norway, according to a new report. But there is a small bright spot.
The year 2022 was Europe’s second warmest year ever. The temperature rises faster than on any other continent.
This has several consequences, according to findings from the annual report “European State of the Climate». It has been developed by the EU’s climate monitoring service “Copernicus Climate Change Service”. In short: The extremes are becoming more frequent. From shrinking ice, to new weather patterns and ocean currents, more drought and heavy rainfall.
Climate change is most felt in Europe. Norway stands out in several ways. It has a simple explanation.
Increases the most in the world
The further north on the globe, the faster the temperature increases. Svalbard is actually the place in the world where the temperature is increasing the most, says Harald Schyberg. He is a senior researcher at the Meteorological Institute.
– We usually say that the Arctic is warming two or three times faster than the average for the rest of the globe. Svalbard heats up around three to four times faster, he says.
The Svalbard region had its hottest summer ever last year. In some places the temperature was 2.5 degrees above normal.
Norway is moving towards a climate similar to what has been experienced further south. That Norwegian farmers can grow corn and produce wine is new. At the same time, several countries in southern Europe are experiencing heat waves, little rainfall and extreme drought. It affects Norway in a way that has not been seen before, explains the researcher.
A new consequence
Climate change is felt differently in cities and districts. Areas with mountains are naturally more prone to landslides. Extreme amounts of rainfall can occur in the cities and increase the risk of flooding, says Schyberg.
You can also see changes inside the grocery stores. Norway buys a lot of food from southern Europe. When both soil and rivers dry up, crops decline. This again affects our food imports, explains Schyberg.
– This led to a lack of more vegetables in the shops recently. We have never seen that before.
In addition to intense and prolonged heat waves, Europe set several records in 2022:
- In Greenland, the glaciers have never melted more.
- Antarctic sea ice was smaller than ever.
- Emissions of carbon dioxide from fires in the summer months were the highest in 15 years.
- Some countries experienced the highest emissions in 20 years.
- The Alps had a record loss of ice from the glaciers.
- The number of hours of sunshine in Europe was a record high.
A small point of light
– What we see in the report shows that the research agrees with the climate models, says Schyberg.
But even among the records there is a small bright spot: The fact that we have more hours of sunshine than in the past in Europe can, in the longer term, provide environmental benefits, says the researcher.
– More hours of sunshine means we can produce more solar energy. And then we can reduce the use of fossil fuels.
