Heat waves and flood disasters: “Such events are becoming more and more common”

According to current climate data, last summer was the warmest in Europe since records began. It was around one degree warmer than the average for the years 1991 to 2020, according to the latest annual report from the EU climate change service Copernicus, which was published on Friday.

“2021 was a year of extremes, including the hottest summer in Europe, heat waves in the Mediterranean, floods and calm winds in Western Europe, showing that understanding weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly important for core sectors of society,” said Carlo Buontempo, who director of service.

In parts of the Baltic Sea, the annual sea surface temperature was more than five degrees above average. A provisional European heat record was measured in Sicily at 48.8 degrees. Because the heat wave lasted two to three weeks in parts of Italy, Greece and Turkey and there was a drought at the same time, numerous devastating forest fires could break out there, according to the climate change service. In July and August alone, an area of ​​800,000 hectares was burned in the Mediterranean region.

The climate researchers also took a closer look at the flood disaster, which cost the lives of more than 180 people in Germany. This was also able to develop in this way because an unusually large amount of rain had already fallen in the previous few weeks and the soil could therefore no longer have absorbed sufficient water, it was said. The water volumes in the Rhine and Meuse catchment areas are estimated to be the highest since 1991. It is difficult to unequivocally attribute such events to climate change, said the report’s lead author, Freja Vamborg. “But we know that in a warming world we will see more and more such events.”

“Much too warm” in Austria

With an increase of 1.2 degrees compared to the long-term average, it was “much too warm” in Austria in 2021, with heavy thunderstorms characterizing the weather. This emerges from the “Climate Status Report 2021”, which was presented at the “Climate Day 2022” conference in Vienna.

According to the report, prepared by the Climate Change Center Austria (CCCA) in cooperation with the Central Institute for Meteorology (ZAMG), last summer was cooler than the previous ones. Nevertheless, it was the ninth warmest since the beginning of measurement history. June was even the third hottest since records began.

The distribution of precipitation over the year also deviated significantly from the average. While February, March, April, June and September were unusually dry, July and August saw 38 and 30 percent more rain than usual, respectively.

In addition, there was an unusually large number of extreme weather events in Austria – the hailstorms on June 24 in Upper and Lower Austria are memorable. According to the report, these were “unprecedented in Central Europe for at least several decades”.

Austria particularly affected

The report also shows that Austria is particularly badly affected by global warming. The temperature increase is twice the global average. This is probably due to Austria’s continental climate. The air warms faster over the mainland than over the thermally sluggish oceans.

According to the report, extreme weather events in Austria will continue to increase in the 21st century. That is why investments, advance warning and early warning systems are needed.