BRUSSELS: Europe is emerging from its second warmest winter yet as climate change intensifies, European Union scientists said on Wednesday.
According to data published by the European Union, the average temperature from December to February in Europe was 1.4 °C higher than the 1991–2020 average for the boreal winter season. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
This ranks as Europe’s joint-second warmest winter on record, surpassed only by the winter of 2019–2020.
Europe experienced a severe heat wave in late December and early January, when record-high winter temperatures affected countries from France to Hungary, forcing ski resorts to close due to a lack of snow.
Hundreds of temperature records were broken across the continent on January 2, the European Commission said, including in the Swiss town of Altdorf, which reached 19.2 degrees Celsius, breaking a record since 1864.
C3S said temperatures were particularly high in eastern Europe and the north of the Nordic countries. While overall temperatures in Europe were above normal, some areas, including parts of Russia and Greenland, were below average.
Europe’s winters are getting warmer as a result of rising global temperatures caused by human-caused climate change, scientists say.
An unusually mild winter offered some short-term respite to governments grappling with high gas prices after Europe cut fuel deliveries last year, with higher temperatures curbing demand for gas for heating in many countries.
But higher temperatures pose risks to wildlife and agriculture. The increase in winter temperatures may cause plants to start growing or animals to come out of hibernation prematurely, killing them later by cold snaps.
Tilly Collins, deputy director of the Center for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, said a changing climate means plants and animals are struggling to move to new places to maintain their ideal temperatures.
“For species with small populations or restricted ranges, this could easily drive them to extinction,” Collins said.
Copernicus pointed to other climate-related extremes, including Antarctic sea ice, which last month fell to its lowest level of any February in the 45-year record of satellite data.
“These reduced sea ice conditions could have important implications for the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and ultimately for global sea level rise,” said C3S Deputy Director. Samantha Burgess,
According to data published by the European Union, the average temperature from December to February in Europe was 1.4 °C higher than the 1991–2020 average for the boreal winter season. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
This ranks as Europe’s joint-second warmest winter on record, surpassed only by the winter of 2019–2020.
Europe experienced a severe heat wave in late December and early January, when record-high winter temperatures affected countries from France to Hungary, forcing ski resorts to close due to a lack of snow.
Hundreds of temperature records were broken across the continent on January 2, the European Commission said, including in the Swiss town of Altdorf, which reached 19.2 degrees Celsius, breaking a record since 1864.
C3S said temperatures were particularly high in eastern Europe and the north of the Nordic countries. While overall temperatures in Europe were above normal, some areas, including parts of Russia and Greenland, were below average.
Europe’s winters are getting warmer as a result of rising global temperatures caused by human-caused climate change, scientists say.
An unusually mild winter offered some short-term respite to governments grappling with high gas prices after Europe cut fuel deliveries last year, with higher temperatures curbing demand for gas for heating in many countries.
But higher temperatures pose risks to wildlife and agriculture. The increase in winter temperatures may cause plants to start growing or animals to come out of hibernation prematurely, killing them later by cold snaps.
Tilly Collins, deputy director of the Center for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, said a changing climate means plants and animals are struggling to move to new places to maintain their ideal temperatures.
“For species with small populations or restricted ranges, this could easily drive them to extinction,” Collins said.
Copernicus pointed to other climate-related extremes, including Antarctic sea ice, which last month fell to its lowest level of any February in the 45-year record of satellite data.
“These reduced sea ice conditions could have important implications for the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and ultimately for global sea level rise,” said C3S Deputy Director. Samantha Burgess,
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