In 2023, the impacts of climate change continued to be seen across Europe, with millions of people impacted by extreme weather events, making the development of mitigation and adaptation measurements a priority.

To achieve this, understanding climate trends is vital. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), released the 2023 European State of the Climate report (ESOTC 2023). The report provides descriptions and analysis of climate conditions and variations from across the Earth system, key events and their impacts, and a discussion of climate policy and action with a focus on human health. The ESOTC also includes updates on the long-term evolution of key Climate Indicators. Europe is no exception when it comes to the consequences of climate change. It is the fastest warming continent, with temperatures rising at around twice the global average rate. The three warmest years on record for Europe have all occurred since 2020, and the ten warmest since 2007. For the year as a whole, the average sea-surface temperature (SST) for the ocean across Europe was the warmest on record. Parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the northeastern Atlantic Ocean saw their highest annual average SST on record.

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Europe experiences widespread flooding and severe heatwaves in 2023

2023 was het jaar van weerextremen

Hittegolven, bosbranden, overstromingen: steeds meer weersextremen in Europa

Europa beleefde recordjaar aan klimaatrampen: hittestress, droogte en bosbranden

Europa was in 2023 uitzonderlijk warm en nat