Temperatures in Europe in 2022 were the second warmest on record after 2020 (a difference of 0.3°C), according to data released by the European Union’s Earth observation programme, Copernicus, on Tuesday 10 January as part of its 2022 Global Climate Highlights report.
According to the document, all of Europe, except Iceland, experienced annual temperatures above the 1991-2020 average. Several western and southern European countries (Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) experienced the highest annual temperature since at least 1950.
With an average temperature 0.4°C above the record set by the summer of 2021 for the months of June, July and August, the summer of 2022 in Europe was the hottest on record. This is particularly true for the month of August, during which the average temperature was 0.8°C above the previous record set in 2018.
The unusually hot late spring and summer of 2022 in Europe, combined with a lack of rain, clear skies and dry soils, has led to drought conditions causing difficulties for many European countries in agriculture, water transport and energy management, the report says.
The drought has also led to more fires in south-western Europe, particularly in France and Spain.
Globally, 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record (after 2016, 2020, 2019 and 2017). Copernicus observed an annual average temperature 0.3°C higher than the reference period 1991-2020, which is equivalent to about 1.2°C higher than the pre-industrial era (the period 1850-1900).
Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increased by approximately 2.1 parts per million (ppm) - a similar rate to recent years - while methane concentrations increased by almost 12 parts per billion (ppb) - an above-average increase, but below the record highs of the last two years.
To access the report: https://aeur.eu/f/4u0 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)