More glacial ice than ever before melted in the European Alps last year, according to the EU’s climate change agency Copernicus. The glaciers of the Alps lost more than five cubic miles of ice, the Reading-based service announced Thursday. If you were to squeeze this mass of ice into a cube, the edges of the cube would be about five and a half times the height of the Eiffel Tower. Europe also experienced the warmest summer on record.
Summer temperatures averaged 1.4 degrees above the reference period 1991 to 2000. According to Copernicus, temperatures in Europe are rising about twice as fast as the global average.
The climate will change greatly in the future
Glacier ice isn’t the only record the service set for 2022. “The climate that awaits us will be very, very different from the one we grew up in,” Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo told journalists. It is all the more important to collect data and knowledge about this and to draw the right conclusions.
Less snow, huge heat waves
The summer of 2022 was marked by a severe drought that, according to Copernicus, affected more than a third of Europe and affected agriculture, transport and energy supplies. This was partly because less snow fell than normal in the previous winter and because huge heat waves in the summer exacerbated the situation.
In Southern Europe, the number of days considered as extreme heat stress days considered hazardous to health has also increased significantly – the Copernicus service measures these days in different temperature levels. In addition, solar radiation in Europe was more intense than at any other time in the past 40 years. This led to above-average potential for solar energy production in many parts of the continent. Experts expect this trend to continue.
Reduction of greenhouse gases “absolutely necessary”
The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere did not decrease last year either, on the contrary. Both the concentration of carbon dioxide and that of the extremely potent greenhouse gas methane increased. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is imperative to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Samantha Burgess, Vice President of Copernicus.
Copernicus data dates back to 1979. The Climate Change Service also uses data from ground stations, balloons, aircraft and satellites dating back to 1950. Data on temperatures, sea ice cover and other aspects are published monthly using computer analysis.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
