Status: 08.09.2022 1:21 p.m
The old record lasted only one year – according to the EU climate change service, the summer of 2022 was the warmest ever measured in Europe. It was also exceptionally dry across much of the continent.
The summer months of June to August were the warmest in Europe on record. Over the three months, the temperature was 0.4 degrees above the previous peak values from 2018 and 2021, the EU climate change service Copernicus said. Looking only at August, the temperature was even 0.8 degrees above the previous highs.
The rise in temperature is even clearer compared to the long-term average from 1991 to 2020 – according to this, the period from June to August this year was 1.34 degrees warmer. According to the data, the southwest of the continent was particularly affected.
Second record summer in a row
“An intense series of heat waves across Europe, combined with unusually dry conditions, has resulted in a summer of extremes with record temperatures, drought and forest fires in many parts of Europe (…)”, said Copernicus scientist Freja Vamborg. It is already the second record summer in a row.
August was generally much drier than average in western Europe and parts of the east. On the other hand, there was more precipitation than usual in the south-east of the continent, Greece and Turkey and large parts of Scandinavia.
Copernicus has records going back as far as 1979. There is also data from ground stations, balloons, airplanes and satellites going back to 1950.