The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe’s recorded history. The continent suffered blistering heatwaves and the worst drought in centuries, as climate change drives ever longer and stronger hot spells.
The three months from June-August were the hottest in Europe since records began, and the exceptionally high temperatures led to the worst drought the continent has witnessed since the Middle Ages.
Records were tumbling in many countries, including France and England, where the mercury topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time.
At least 15,000 people have died in Europe because of hot weather in 2022 so far, the World Health Organization said Monday, with Spain and Germany among the worst-affected countries.
Forest fires linked to the hotter, drier conditions also scorched more land than ever before in Europe -- over 600,000 hectares, setting another sad record. That is more than double the average of just over 317,000 hectares in the 2006-2021 period.
Parts of the Arctic and Antarctic, China and the US also experience record temperatures.
Extreme weather events linked to climate change continue to wreak havoc in developing countries.
Pakistan was probably hit the hardest. Spring was marked by a heat wave with up to 51 degrees, with loads of rain following. A third of the entire country was under water, with 33 million people on the run.
Nigeria also suffered its worst floods in a decade and parts of drought-hit Somalia face the threat of famine.
At the United Nations climate summit in Egypt (COP27), developing nations finally succeed in getting wealthy polluters to agree to pay into a “loss and damage” fund to compensate poorer countries for climate damage.
Ahead of these talks, UN experts estimated that the world was on track to warming of 2.1 to 2.9 C -- but some outside analysts put the figure well higher, with greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 again hitting a record despite pushes to renewable energy.
The US is currently experiencing what authorities called the “blizzard of the century,” a relentless storm that has left nearly 50 people dead across the United States and caused Christmas travel chaos.
Less than two weeks ago heavy snowfall descended on the Russian capital, disrupting traffic, delaying flights and leaving pavements buried with snow. The last time a similar depth of snow was recorded in Moscow in mid-December was in 1989 and in 1993, the Fobos weather centre said.
