The old continent has undergone intense heat waves and pest fires, especially in the Mediterranean, as well as dramatic floods, according to the balance sheet 2021 drawn up by the European COPERNICUS service.
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Records and extremes are more than ever the norm in a warmed world. Last year, Europe has thus experienced the hottest summer ever recorded and suffered intense heat waves, pest fires but also flood drama. This is what emerges from Report on the state Climate in Europe in 2021 published by the European COPERNICUS Surveillance Monitoring Service, Friday, April 22, on the occasion of Earth Day.
Copernicus, whose data, collected since 1950, are used by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to establish its annual balance sheet, confirms that on a global scale, the last seven years have been the hottest ever recorded , 2021 falling at the e or at the e place. This situation is all the more exceptional as the past year has been marked by two episodes of the Niña, a phenomenon that decreases the global temperature of the planet. In total, the Earth has already warmed up 1.1 to 1.2 ° C from the pre-industrial era, and the European continent of 2 ° C, due to the record levels of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere, due to human activities and in particular the combustion of fossil energies (coal, oil and gas).
Extreme events
Despite the long-term trend of warming, the old continent nevertheless has known a contrasting year 2021. If it has not been ranked among the hottest ten years, the temperatures on the sea surface have been the highest for nearly twenty years in large areas of the Mediterranean and Baltic. In June and July, some parts of the Baltic showed even more than 5 ° C beyond normal.
The European spring has been cooler than average, some of Europe with early start followed by a late gel episode, which has repercussions on agriculture.
On the other hand, the summer turned out that of all extremes. With 1 ° C more than the average 1991-2020, it was marked by “record temperatures, intense and long-lasting heat waves and exceptional floods,” says Freja Vamborg, Report and Senior Scientist Coordinator. Copernicus. The Mediterranean region has been particularly affected, recording an intense and prolonged heat wave in July-August. Many temperature records were beaten, including the European record, with 48.8 ° C in Sicily – a figure that still needs to be confirmed by WMO. In some regions of Italy, Greece and Turkey, the heat wave lasted two to three weeks. This persistent heat and a large drought have been conducive to violent forest fires, especially in Italy, Greece and Turkey. More than 800,000 hectares are thus smoke in July and August around the Mediterranean.
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