We are in the midst of a climate crisis. Europe is the continent warming most rapidly
On Earth Day, we learn that we are in the midst of a climate crisis, and that Europe is the continent warming most rapidly.
According to the European Copernicus service and the World Meteorological Organization, temperatures on the old continent are rising twice as fast as the global average. And our experts confirm that we will have a summer with heatwaves, followed by hailstorms and even tornadoes.
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- Historic milestone. The world has briefly surpassed the crucial threshold of 2 degrees of warming compared to the pre-industrial era
Although it's only April, Romanian meteorologists believe we should prepare for an extreme summer.
Roxana Bojariu, ANM meteorologist: "We're experiencing increasingly severe hailstorms and we can even reach the extreme severity level of a storm, tornadoes or waterspouts. The fact that Europe also has a part of the Arctic zone contributes to this warming rate above the global average. The Arctic is warming four times more than the global average. On the other hand, we also have the Mediterranean area, where local factors determine a different response than in northern Europe".
The most recent five-year reports show that temperatures in Europe are now 2.3 degrees Celsius higher than in the pre-industrial period.
Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Director: "All the oceans worldwide are warmer. These are all consequences of the increased energy in the system, due to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If we mobilize quickly, there is still a chance that by the end of the century we can return to temperatures as 'cool', as strange as it may sound, as the ones we feel now. From now on, it is almost certain that temperatures will be higher than the extremes we have felt in recent months".
Extreme temperatures present particular risks to the health of outdoor workers, the elderly and those with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Heat-related mortality has increased by approximately 30% in the last 20 years. In its report, Copernicus noted that in 2023, heatwaves pushed nearly half of Southern Europe into strong or extremely strong heat stress. Also, for the entire year, the average temperature of ocean surface waters was the highest on record. There have been moments when temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean were recorded to be 5 degrees Celsius higher than the average. In the course of 2023, one-third of the European river network recorded river flows that exceeded the "high" flood threshold and 16% exceeded the "severe" flood threshold.
The European Environment Agency has already requested since last month the preparation of healthcare systems for climate change and has requested EU standards to protect outdoor workers from extreme heat.
