European State of the Climate 2024
Abstract
Europe is the fastest-warming continent, and the impacts of climate change are clear. 2024 was the warmest year on record for Europe. Storms were often severe and flooding widespread, claiming at least 335 lives and affecting an estimated 413 000 people. During the year, there was a striking east-west contrast in climate conditions, with extremely dry and often record-warm conditions in the east, and warm but wet conditions in the west. The European State of the Climate 2024 (ESOTC 2024) report involves around 100 scientific contributors providing holistic yet concise insights into Europe’s climate. C3S is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission. Since 2018, the service has released the ESOTC, a detailed analysis of Europe’s climate for the previous year, going beyond annual temperature with analyses of a wide range of climate variables, from heat and cold stress to sunshine duration and cloudiness, from wildfires to glaciers and much more.
