This article was originally published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Published in partnership with: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, and the impacts of climate change here are clear. 2024 was the warmest year on record for Europe, with record temperatures in central, eastern and southeastern regions.

Storms were often severe and flooding 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.

Key Facts

• Temperature: 2024 was the warmest year for Europe, with record-high annual temperatures in almost half of the continent.
• Sea Surface Temperature (SST): For the year as a whole, SST for the European region was the highest on record, 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 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.

Spotlight topics for the ESOTC 2024 include an overview of flooding in Europe, with a focus on the extreme events in central and eastern Europe associated with Storm Boris, and those in Valencia, Spain, as well as the extreme heat and drought in southeastern Europe during the summer.

30% of the European river network exceeded the ‘high’ flood threshold during the year, while 12% 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.

At the end of October, Spain saw extreme precipitation and flooding leading to devastating impacts and fatalities in the province of Valencia and neighbouring regions.

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.

For the first time, these spotlight sections also provide information on trends in flooding, and extreme heat and drought in Europe, summarising key findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For example, Europe is one of the regions with the largest projected increase in flood risk, and a global warming of 1.5ºC could result in 30,000 annual deaths in Europe due to extreme heat.

Climate policy and action

This year, the interactive map of key events also features a new layer highlighting examples of climate resilience and adaptation initiatives in cities across Europe.

51% of European cities have adopted dedicated climate adaptation plans, representing encouraging progress from 26% in 2018, according to the climate policy and action section of the report, highlighting that continued efforts will unlock even greater potential to adapt to climate challenges effectively. Extreme weather events pose increasing risks to Europe’s built environment and infrastructure and the services they support.

Striking climate contrasts

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.

This east-west contrast was apparent in many climate variables, such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, clouds, sunshine duration, solar radiation and potential for solar power generation. Consequently, the contrast was also reflected in terms of the European river network, with widespread higher-than-average river flows in western Europe and lower-than-average flows in eastern Europe.

Renewable energy progress

The proportion of electricity generation by renewables in Europe reached a record high in 2024, at 45%, compared to the previous record of 43% in 2023, reflecting Europe’s efforts towards a decarbonised energy system. The number of EU countries where renewables generate more electricity than fossil fuels has nearly doubled since 2019, rising from 12 to 20, according to reports.

Renewable power generation and electricity demand are highly sensitive to weather conditions, and the climate-driven potential for power generation from solar photovoltaic reflected the contrasting east (sunnier) and west (cloudier) conditions.

Increasing heat stress, day and night

Heat stress days and tropical nights are increasing in Europe – 2024 saw the second-highest number of heat stress days and tropical nights on record; averaged over Europe, this meant nearly a month of at least ‘strong heat stress’ and around 12 tropical nights, with variations across the continent and southeastern Europe in particular seeing record-breaking numbers of both. Heat can put the body under stress, influenced not only by temperature but also by other environmental factors such as wind and humidity. High nighttime temperatures can also affect health, offering little respite from daytime heat stress.

Shrinking glaciers

Region: Region VI: Europe

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