Nearly all of Europe had above-average heat last year, new report says

追加: 2026-04-30

[00:00:00]Extreme heat is a concern in Europe. The latest Capernacus climate report shows that nearly the entire continent experienced above average temperatures last year. Crystal Gamman's been digging into this for us. Crystal, good morning.

[00:00:14]>> Good morning, David. Yeah, this is the annual report by the Capernicus Climate Change Service and it once again is really drawing attention to the uh immediate issues of climate change and the impacts on everyday lives. I want to give you a little bit of an idea of what this report is saying this year. For example, they're saying that there was a record amount of land loss because of wildfires across Europe. Uh that 86% of the region experienced at least one strong marine heat wave. So we have land issues, we have water issues. Uh they are saying that Greenland, specifically Greenland's Greenland's ice sheet lost 139 billion tons of ice. That according to the deputy director of Caperticus is the equivalent of losing 100 Olympic size swimming pools every minute. So that is a huge impact on Iceland, Greenland's glaciers and also snow cover. Snow cover in Europe at the end of March was 132 million square kilometers below average. So what does this all mean? Well, the deputy director of Capernicus, Samantha Burgess, says it is all feeding a weather pattern loop.

[00:01:25]We are losing that reflective cover. The Earth is absorbing more uh energy from the sun and that is feeding into all of these losses. Let's hear a little bit more from Samantha Burgess.

[00:01:38]>> Climate change isn't a future problem.

[00:01:40]Is not a problem for, you know, the 2030s or the 2040s. It's something that we're facing now. And in the report we show, you know, a huge number of climate indicators, whether it's losing glacias, increased fire risk, increased droughts, uh, you know, heat waves and marine heat waves. We're seeing all these climate indicators that show that we're experiencing climate change now, and we really need to adapt accordingly.

[00:02:08]So, not only adapt accordingly, but it's also very clear from what Samantha told me that all of these changes are the result of human activity and of course the result of burning fossil fuels. So, she is saying that this is something that we all need to deal with regardless of where we're living.

[00:02:28]>> What do they want us to do about it?

[00:02:30]>> Well, what they are saying is that we need to take some pretty obvious and and easy steps. For example, she talks about when it comes to the wildfire situation, we not we need to stop looking at it as a seasonal issue and really pay attention to the conditions year round.

[00:02:46]People need to be aware and not set campfires in areas that could be vulnerable. But it's also coming down to researchers. People like Yonas Leech who is at the University of Iceland in an area where they are seeing dramatic losses to the glacier. and he says that it it's really challenging to work on projects when you know that potentially uh you're going to be out of a career because the glaciers are retreating at such a pace. But he says they are working on projects to combine as much data as they possibly can to get a good idea of what the situation is to better inform people.

[00:03:23]>> But it it is a weird feeling um to know that you you study something that is vanishing. I I think it's for me it's giving purpose to at least know that whatever you estimate or work on it will help us to adjust to the changes we inevitably face and maybe also cause some of the change that needs to be done to preserve what's there.

[00:03:48]>> A big part of this report is highlighting the situation in Europe, David. But however, all of those who are attached to it say that this is a problem that really stretches beyond borders.

[00:03:59]Crystal Gammaning in London. Thank you very much.