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A man sunbathes lying on a bench during a heatwave at the public beach of Palaio Faliro, in southern Athens, July 21, 2025. [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
BRUSSELS \u2013 Almost all of Europe experienced above-average heat in 2025, a year that broke records for wildfires, sea temperatures and heatwaves as climate change worsens, EU scientists and the World Meteorological Organization say.<\/p>\n
At least 95% of Europe experienced above-average temperatures, while wildfires burnt \u2060more than 1 million hectares of land \u2013 \u2060an area larger than Cyprus and the biggest annual total on record, the WMO and the EU\u2019s Copernicus Climate Change Service said in their annual report on Europe\u2019s \u200bclimate. The findings set out how climate \u2060change is having increasingly severe consequences in Europe, at a time when some governments seek to weaken emissions-cutting policies over economic concerns. The European \u2060Union has vowed to stick \u200cto its \u2060green goals, but it weakened some climate rules for cars and companies last year after pressure from industry to help struggling firms.<\/p>\n
Europe is the world\u2019s fastest-warming continent. The \u200bWMO and Copernicus said more than half of Europe was hit by drought conditions \u200cin May 2025, and the year overall was one of the three driest for soil moisture since 1992, as the warming climate imposes harsher conditions on farmers.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s overall sea surface temperature hit an \u200bannual record high, and 86% of the region suffered strong marine heatwaves.<\/p>\n
Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said the report showed that \u201cclimate change is not a future \u200cthreat, it is \u200bour present reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pace of climate change demands more urgent action,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The WMO and Copernicus noted particular concern about changes in Europe\u2019s coldest regions \u2013 \u2060where snow and ice cover is crucial \u200cto help slow climate change, by reflecting sunlight back into space. This phenomenon, known as \u200bthe \u201calbedo effect,\u201d decreases if warmer temperatures cause more melting. Ice loss also adds to sea level rise.<\/p>\n
Sub-Arctic \u200cNorway, \u2060Sweden \u2060and Finland experienced their heaviest heatwave on record last July, \u200blasting three consecutive weeks, and temperatures inside the Arctic Circle breached 30 degrees Celsius. \u200bIceland recorded its second-largest glacier loss in 2025 since records \u200cbegan, the report said. [Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n