Europe is sweltering under a record-smashing heatwave this week — a stark reminder that the continent is heating up faster than anywhere else on Earth, with its northern reaches extending into an Arctic that is warming even more rapidly.
After record high temperatures for May were broken in Ireland, France and the UK yesterday and on Monday, the continent still faces more brutal heat in the coming days.
A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.
Here is a look at why Europe is warming faster than elsewhere:
A higher degree
The planet is around 1.4C warmer than in preindustrial times, defined as 1850-1900.
Europe, however, has warmed far more: it is around 2.4C hotter than the preindustrial era, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“Almost all of this heat is driven by the human-induced greenhouse effect from fossil fuel emissions, with the actual distribution of this excess heat determined by (several) factors,” researcher in extreme weather and climate change at Imperial College London Ben Clarke said.
Changing weather patterns
Beyond the overall temperature rise, the way the atmosphere behaves over Europe is also shifting — and that matters for day-to-day extremes.
Shifts in atmospheric circulation have driven more frequent and more intense heatwaves in the European summer, according to Copernicus.
High-pressure systems, which bring settled weather and higher temperatures, have become more common in Europe, Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said.
“If you look over the last 20, 30 years, there has been a prevalence, especially in summer, of those sort of anticyclonic conditions that are making heatwaves more likely,” Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said.
Tourists shield themselves from the sun with hats and umbrellas at the Spanish Steps in Rome
Mr Buontempo said scientists are still debating whether the greater recurrence of that specific kind of high-pressure system is being propelled by climate change or amounts to a “statistical fluctuation”.
Such systems are often referred to as “blocking highs” because they can park over an area, holding their position and preventing other weather patterns from breaking through.
Geography professor at Trinity College Dublin Mary Bourke explained the mechanics in simple terms.
“The sky is exposed to us, there are no clouds. It’s a stable mass of air that is bringing warm air down to the surface and taking away moist air, so the air is not only warm, but it’s also dry.”
Rapidly warming Arctic
Europe’s location also amplifies the pace of change.
“Europe is connected to the Arctic, which is warming much faster than the rest of the planet,” Mr Clarke said.
The Arctic is 3.2C warmer than in preindustrial times, according to Copernicus.
Part of that acceleration comes from what scientists call the albedo feedback.
Shifts in atmospheric circulation have driven more frequent and more intense heatwaves
Snow and sea ice, which are bright, typically bounce a large share of the sun’s energy back into space. As they shrink, darker ocean and land surfaces are exposed — and those surfaces soak up more heat.
“So as sea ice melts it leads to greater absorption of heat, which in turn further warms waters and melts more ice,” Mr Clarke said.
Melting snow
The same basic principle applies further south, where winter landscapes are changing.
In other parts of Europe, the area where snow was very frequent in winter has shrunk, Mr Buontempo said.
“We have many of the historical regions that had a week or more of freezing condition now, not having that. And this means exposing dark land rather than white snow,” he said.
Falling air pollution
Cleaner air has brought major public-health benefits — but it has also altered the balance of warming and cooling in the atmosphere.
Stricter air quality regulations have reduced aerosol emissions since the 1980s.
However, tackling the pollutant had the side effect of contributing to global warming, as these tiny airborne particles have a cooling effect by reflecting sunlight and making clouds more reflective.
“While a reduction in air pollution is hugely important for respiratory health, it also increases the solar radiation at the surface, as many types of particulate matter deflect sunlight,” Mr Clarke said.
Varying degrees
Europe is not warming uniformly, with the fastest increases concentrated in particular regions.
Eastern and southeastern Europe, and parts of central Europe including the Alps, have warmed by 0.5C-1C per decade over the last 30 years, according to Copernicus.
Western and southwestern Europe, and sub-Arctic Finland, Norway and Sweden, warmed by 0.2C-0.5C per decade.
Last summer was the fourth warmest on record for Svalbard
In the far north, Svalbard — a Norwegian Arctic archipelago that is home to polar bears — has seen warming of 1.5C-2C per decade.
Among the fastest-warming places on the planet, Svalbard recorded record high summer temperatures from 2022 to 2024. Last year it experienced its fourth warmest summer on record.
