Europe, the ground zero of global warming

BarcelonaEurope is the continent that is warming fastest in the world. This is causing a continuous loss of snow and ice and increasingly extreme weather phenomena. During 2025 alone, several records were registered due to the climate crisis across the continent, which caused serious consequences for societies and ecosystems throughout Europe.

Such are the strong data published today in the State of the Climate in Europe (ESTOC) 2025 report, prepared by the European centre for meteorological forecasts of the climate change service of the European Copernicus programme, together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Recent data show a continued trend of rapid warming across Europe. It is estimated that 95% of the continent registered annual temperatures above the average during the past year. Notable are the extraordinary heatwaves registered during last summer in various areas – from the Arctic to the Mediterranean – which caused more days than normal with “strong thermal stress”. For example, in southern and eastern Spain, fifty more days than usual were registered with perceived temperatures above 32 °C.

Subarctic countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland registered last summer the worst heatwave in their history, with 21 consecutive days and temperatures above 30 °C within the Arctic Circle. Notable are the 34.9 °C registered in July in Frosta, Norway, an absolute record in this area. “Europe is the continent that is warming fastest, and the effects are already serious”, explains in the report Florian Pappenberger, Director General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

It should be remembered that 2025 was the third warmest year since records began in the world and in Europe, with a global average temperature of 1.47 °C above pre-industrial levels.

Therefore, this warming is especially evident in the colder regions, such as the Arctic or the Alps, where the reduction of ice and snow is advancing relentlessly. In Greenland alone, it is estimated that the ice sheet lost 139 gigatons of ice last year. In Europe as a whole, the snow cover was 31% lower than the average, with 1.32 million square kilometers less, equivalent to a combined area of France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is the third-lowest snow extent since records began in 1983. A serious problem, as snow and ice reflect sunlight back into space, which slows down climate change.

This loss of ice contributes to the rise in sea level globally and, according to the report, every centimeter of rise exposes six million more people to coastal flooding.

Record burned area and marine heat

Data on forest fires is also concerning. Extreme heat and droughts contributed to the rapid generation and spread of unprecedented forest fires across the continent. The total area burned in Europe in 2025 was 1,034,000 hectares, the worst figure since records began, equivalent to an area larger than the island of Cyprus. This generated a record of emissions from the fires themselves, which contribute to the advancement of climate change, half of which occurred in Spain during the historic forest fires of last year.

The data also highlight that Europe's ocean region recorded the highest-ever annual sea surface temperature last year, marking four consecutive years of record heat. Furthermore, marine heatwaves became widespread in 2025, affecting 86% of Europe's ocean region. They were also more intense, with 36% of the region experiencing “severe” or “extreme” conditions, the highest proportion recorded. Oceans worldwide have absorbed around 90% of the excess heat produced by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

“The report presents a stark picture: the pace of climate change demands more urgent action”, warns Samantha Burgess, Head of Climate Change Impact at the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), who also highlights the impact of extreme phenomena and terrestrial and marine heatwaves on biodiversity. “To address the impact of biodiversity loss, we must match the speed of adaptation occurring in the transition to clean energy and, at the same time, ensure our policies and decisions are based on robust scientific data”, adds the expert.

“Our collective effort reflects how climate change is affecting biodiversity, as well as the bold initiatives adopted by European policymakers to protect and restore it”, states Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the WMO, in the report, warning of the “energy imbalance” the planet is experiencing.

Finally, the report highlights that severe storms and floods again affected thousands of people across Europe last year, although they were less widespread than in recent years. The positive note is that renewable energy supplied almost half of Europe's electricity in 2025 (46.4%), with solar power reaching a new record contribution of 12.5%.