Our continent is bearing the brunt of the effects of global warming. And, while this is often clearly visible to the naked eye, new data gives us a comprehensive and more alarming view of the situation.
The European program Corpernicus Climate Change Service has just published a report on the extreme events that hit our continent in 2022, and here is what emerges.
Majority of rivers and rivers affected
Last year, the continent and even Antarctica, experienced sharp increases in temperature. While it has increased on average in the world by 1.2°C, it has undergone a rise of 2.2°C in Europe. As a result, she experienced “ its hottest summer on record, compounded by several extreme events including intense heat waves, drought conditions and widespread wildfires “, according to Copernicus.
Among the most visible effects, the report cites the reduction in the flow of rivers. Indeed, due to less rainfall and periods of high heat, most European river basins are gradually drying up. The figures that emerge are overwhelming: 2022 was the driest year on record, with 63% of rivers in Europe recording below-average flows. This phenomenon is clearly visible on this map, which shows the unusual nature of the flows of the continent’s rivers in the month of August alone.
In the most affected basins, there is of course the Loire, but also the Rhine and the Danube, the latter being the largest on the continent. And the situation is not likely to improve, as Europe’s glaciers, essential sources for rivers, continue to disappear at an alarming rate. In the Alps alone, the total melting is equivalent to a cube of ice 5.4 times the height of the Eiffel Tower “Explains an author of the report.
An unprecedented and dangerous situation
Periods of high heat do not only have a negative impact on waterways. In 2022, heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe. But, even more, certain regions of the continent experienced maximum temperatures exceeding the normal by up to 10°C.
This resulted in thermometers going above 40°C in the UK, but also, in parts of southern Europe, in whole months of severe heat stress. These are historic records that endanger the entire population, but not only.
Indeed, if the lack of water portends complicated periods for the agricultural sector, droughts have also caused numerous forest fires. In total, more than 900,000 hectares went up in smoke last year, including 66,000 in France alone, one of the most affected countries.
Ironically, these fires have contributed to an unprecedented increase in greenhouse gas emissions on the continent, particularly during the summer. In July alone, more than three megatonnes of CO₂ were emitted from these disasters, three times more than usual.
An anxiety-provoking prospect before the situation is reversed? There are all the same reasons to hope for more positive moments in the more or less near future. With, for example, encouraging figures in the energy sector alone, which should experience a drop in its CO₂ emissions from this year on a global level, despite a mixed year in 2022.
Source : Release, Copernicus
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