European Environment Agency: Europe’s climate continues to change

The period from 2004-2013 was the warmest decade on record in Europe. Many other changes significant for Europe have been observed across the climate system, including warming oceans, rising sea level and shrinking snow cover, ice sheets, sea ice and glaciers.

In the last decade global near-surface average annual temperature was 0.75 - 0.81 °C warmer than the pre-industrial average. Other records have been broken in recent months – global average temperatures in May and June 2014 were the highest monthly averages ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.

These are a few of the many trends featured in 13 climate change indicators recently published by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Using graphs, maps and concise analysis, the indicators demonstrate some of the most important observations and projections of climate change and its impacts.

The update also improves projections of future climate change. Global sea-level rise projections have been revised upwards, based on new climate models that better represent the effects of melting ice sheets on sea level rise. This indicator now also includes regional sea-level rise projections for the European regional seas. In addition, several indicators now include projections of further snow and ice decline. For example, if greenhouse gases continue to be emitted at high levels, the Arctic Ocean is projected to be nearly ice-free every September before mid-century.

In many cases, the indicators feature information from the recent Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the physical science of climate change published in September 2013, although several indicators have been updated with even more recent information and adding trends and projections relevant for Europe.

The recently updated indicators are:

• CSI012/CLIM001/CLIM003: Global and European temperature
• CLIM002: Mean precipitation
• CLIM005: Storms
• CLIM007: Glaciers  
• CLIM008: Snow cover
• CLIM009: Greenland ice sheet
• CLIM010: Arctic and Baltic sea ice
• CLIM011: Permafrost
• CLIM012: Global and European sea level rise
• CLIM013: Sea surface temperature
• CLIM043: Ocean acidification
• CLIM044: Ocean heat content
• CLIM045: Storm surges

Adapting to climate change

As the climate changes, many European countries, regions and cities are trying to adapt to the prospect of more heatwaves, droughts, floods and a rising sea level. These efforts range from public policy (adaptation strategies and action plans) to major infrastructure works. Some of these efforts are illustrated in several updated case studies featured on the Climate-ADAPT website.

After several near-flood events in the Netherlands in the 1990s, the country decided to manage river flood risk differently in a project called ‘Room for the River’. One example is in the city of Nijmegen. The city is constructing an ancillary channel on the flood plains and an urban river park. These measures allow more water to be stored in the event of high river water levels. There are also other benefits, including room for living, recreation, cultural events, and wildlife.

For Zaragoza in Spain, climate change presents a very different problem. In 1996, drought and projections of declining river flows prompted Spain’s fifth largest city to promote a ‘water saving culture’ with revised water tariffs and positive examples of how people and businesses can use water more efficiently. A parallel programme of upgrading infrastructure also helped reduce water use by reducing leaks and upgrading waste water treatment. Over fifteen years, the city cut water consumption by almost 30 %.

Climate-ADAPT is an online portal with a wealth of information on how the EU, countries, cities or municipalities can best adapt to climate change. It has recently been revamped to include new or improved case studies, search features, country information, an updated adaptation support tool and more extensive pages on the funding opportunities available for adaptation.

More information

The indicators update information published in 2012 as part of an assessment of climate change impacts in Europe. The EEA will publish a fully-updated version of the report in 2016. In autumn 2014 the EEA will publish a detailed assessment of how European countries are adapting to climate change.