Europe, gripped by a record-breaking heatwave, is warming faster than any other continent and extends into the rapidly heating Arctic. Britain, Ireland, and France have already set new May temperature records, with even more extreme heat expected in the days ahead.
A heat dome is driving the scorching conditions, trapping a mass of hot air from northern Africa beneath a high-pressure system over western Europe. This weather pattern has produced temperatures more typical of peak summer than late spring.
Europe Is Warming Far Faster Than the Planet as a Whole
The planet has warmed by about 1.4°C since the preindustrial period (1850–1900). In contrast, Europe has heated up by approximately 2.4°C, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“Nearly all of this warming is caused by the human-driven greenhouse effect from fossil fuel emissions, while several other factors influence how that excess heat is distributed,” Ben Clarke, an extreme weather and climate researcher at Imperial College London, told AFP.
According to Copernicus, changes in atmospheric circulation have made European summer heatwaves more frequent and more intense. High-pressure systems, which create stable weather and hotter conditions, are now occurring more often across the continent.
Persistent High-Pressure Systems Are Fueling More Heatwaves
“There has been a growing prevalence of these anticyclonic weather patterns over the past 20 to 30 years, particularly in summer, making heatwaves more likely,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo told AFP.
Buontempo said scientists are still debating whether the growing frequency of this particular type of high-pressure system is a result of climate change or simply a natural statistical fluctuation.
These high-pressure systems, known as blocking highs, can remain fixed over a region and prevent other weather systems from moving in. As a result, they trap heat and prolong hot, dry conditions.
Mary Bourke, a geography professor at Trinity College Dublin, explained to AFP that the lack of cloud cover allows the sun to heat the surface directly, while the stable air mass pushes warm air downward and removes moisture, making the air both hotter and drier.
Geography is another key factor. According to Ben Clarke, Europe is directly connected to the Arctic, a region that is warming much faster than the rest of the world.
Arctic Warming Accelerates as Melting Ice Amplifies Heat Absorption
According to Copernicus, the Arctic has warmed by about 3.2°C since the preindustrial era. Much of this rapid warming is driven by the albedo feedback process.
Bright snow and ice reflect a large share of the Sun’s energy back into space. As they melt, they expose darker surfaces like land and ocean, which absorb much more heat.
“As sea ice disappears, more heat is absorbed, warming the water further and accelerating the melting of even more ice,” Clarke explained.
In other parts of Europe, areas that once regularly experienced heavy winter snowfall have become smaller, according to Buontempo. Many regions that historically had a week or more of freezing temperatures now experience far fewer such conditions, leaving darker land exposed instead of reflective snow.
Stricter air-quality regulations have also reduced aerosol emissions since the 1980s. Although these particles contribute to air pollution, they can also have a cooling effect by reflecting sunlight and increasing cloud reflectivity. As a result, cleaner air has allowed more solar energy to reach the surface, potentially contributing to additional warming.
Warming Rates Vary Across Europe, With Some Regions Heating Much Faster
The pace of warming varies considerably across Europe. Copernicus reports that eastern and southeastern Europe, along with parts of central Europe such as the Alps, have warmed by around 0.5°C–1°C per decade over the past 30 years. Western and southwestern Europe, as well as sub-Arctic areas of Finland, Norway, and Sweden, have experienced warming of about 0.2°C–0.5°C per decade.
The most dramatic warming has occurred in Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago known for its polar bears, where temperatures have risen by roughly 1.5°C–2°C per decade. One of the fastest-warming regions on Earth, Svalbard recorded unusually high summer temperatures from 2022 to 2024 and experienced its fourth-warmest summer on record last year.
Read the original article on: sciencealert
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