The year 2024 etched itself into Europe’s climate history as the warmest year ever recorded unveiling the growing threat of uneven warming, violent weather swings, and rapid environmental degradation, according to The European State of the Climate 2024 report. A stark east-west climate divide unfolded across the continent scorching dry heat in the east, while the west weathered unusually warm, soggy seasons.
Overall, 45% of the year’s days were significantly warmer than average, and 12% were the hottest ever, pushing Europe further into its position as the fastest-warming continent, said Florence Rabier, Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Averaged over five years, Europe’s temperature is now 2.4°C above pre-industrial levels a milestone with dire consequences.
One of the most alarming climate hotspots was Svalbard, a remote Arctic archipelago. Its summer temperatures smashed previous records by 1°C, making it the third consecutive summer of extreme warmth. Average summer temperatures were more than 2.5°C above normal, triggering unprecedented glacier mass loss. The Arctic region overall experienced its third warmest year, with eastern zones seeing record heat and accelerated ice melt.
The climate crisis deepened as glaciers across Svalbard and Scandinavia experienced their worst losses ever recorded, making them the largest contributors to global glacier melt in 2024. While Greenland’s ice sheet saw a relatively stable year, the uneven warming pattern only added to the chaos in other parts of the continent.
Oceanic indicators also flashed red. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) hit record highs 0.7°C above average in Europe and 1.2°C in the Mediterranean Sea. SSTs are key climate drivers, influencing everything from weather patterns to storm intensity, and the rise is a warning sign of escalating ocean-atmosphere imbalance.
Europe also saw contrasting rainfall extremes. The west faced its wettest year since 1950, with storms battering countries like France, Belgium, and northern Italy, while the east battled droughts. Flooding surged across the continent, with 30% of rivers breaching the ‘high flood’ threshold, and 12% hitting ‘severe’ flood levels, making 2024 the most flood-stricken year since 2013.
July 2024 marked another grim milestone with southeastern Europe enduring its longest and most intense heatwave ever recorded. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) spiked 3.3°C above average, causing not only daytime heat stress but also a record 23 tropical nights, when temperatures never dipped below 20°C, depriving people of overnight relief and posing serious health risks.
Even more worrying is the decline in cold stress days, indicating a loss of winter extremes. While this may sound benign, it further disrupts natural cycles, affecting agriculture, biodiversity, and water systems.
And as if heat and floods weren’t enough wildfires raged through Europe, especially in Portugal where 110,000 hectares burned in just one week, displacing over 42,000 people. This accounted for a quarter of Europe’s total annual burnt area, spotlighting the rising risk of fire-induced disasters.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo warned, “Every fraction of a degree matters. The risk to lives, economies, and ecosystems increases exponentially. Adaptation is no longer a choice it’s a necessity.”
This latest report serves not just as a climate audit, but a call to action. The crisis unfolding across Europe is a snapshot of our global future unless governments, communities, and industries act faster, act smarter, and act together.