Last summer was the hottest on record in Europe while 2022 was the second warmest year ever. Scientists blame climate change, pointing out that the continent has been around 2.2C above preindustrial levels over the last five years.
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Mauro Facchini, head of earth observation at the European Commission, said: “The findings are frightening.
“We have more and more extreme events happening in Europe.”
Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said: “We are really moving into an uncharted territory.”
The C3S report should be seen as “yet another wake-up call to accelerate our efforts” to cut emissions, he added.
Temperatures in the UK passed 104F (40C) for the first time in July last year.
C3S found emissions from summer wildfires were the highest in 15 years and the European Alps lost record amounts of glacier ice. Flows in two-thirds of Europe’s rivers were below average.
The UK’s National Drought Group warned a hot dry spell could see drought return, despite heavy winter rainfall.
Bristol University’s Professor Daniela Schmidt said: “We are not prepared for droughts like last year given the losses in agriculture, scorched plants and fish in dwindling rivers and the thousands of human deaths.”
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