Signal Europe warming about twice as fast as the global average

Summary

The report states that Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures climbing about twice as fast as the global average. The year 2023 was the hottest yet recorded in Europe, with more days of extreme heat stress, and 2025 was only slightly cooler. The report names heat stress as the greatest climate risk to public health. Southern Europe faces threats to its water supply from drought and desertification, while most of the continent faces a higher flood risk from heavy rain, as shown by the 2021 floods in Germany's Ahr valley and in Belgian and Dutch Limburg and the 2024 floods around Valencia. Coastal areas such as the low-lying parts of the Netherlands are extremely exposed to flooding, erosion and salt intrusion as sea levels rise.