That 2022 it is year extreme weathersuch as droughts or floods, record temperatures and maximum concentrations of greenhouse gases, according to data from Climate Change Service (C3S) from Copernicuswhich ranks it as second hottest year in Europe and fifth hottest globally.

According to him World Climate annual report in 2022 from C3S, based on data captured by the satellite system European Union (EU) Copernicus and published this Tuesday, the summer was the hottest on record in Europe and the third warmest on a planetary scale.

World

For the year as a whole, the average temperature was 0.3°C over the 1991-2020 period and 1.2° over the 1850-1900 period, commonly used as pre-industrial era estimates.

2022, was the eighth year in a row with temperatures more than 1°C higher than pre-industrial levels, with thermometers being more than 2°C above the average for the period 1991-2020 in parts of northern central Siberia already as long as Antarctica Peninsula.

Scientists warn that to avoid reaching a tipping point, global warming must be limited in this century to 1.5° of pre-industrial values.

Leading up to 2022, the hottest years will be 2016, 2020 and 2019 and 2017, according to C3S analysis, indicating that these actions may differ from those of other international organizations.

The area with the hottest year on record covers a wide area Western Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, China, New Zealandthat northwestern africa and African horn.

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by about 2.1 parts per million (ppm), a rate similar to recent years; while methane increased by about 12 parts per billion (ppb), the rate was above average although less than the historical maximum in the last two years.

The year closed with an average of 417 ppm CO2 and 1,894 ppb methane in the atmosphere, which in both cases were the highest concentrations recorded by satellite. If other records were included, in the case of CO2 it would be the highest level in over 2 million years and in the case of methane, the highest in over 800,000 years.

Greenhouse gases are a major driver of climate change and their concentrations are increasing every year and show no signs of slowing, the director warned Copernicus Weather Monitoring Service, Vincent Henri Peuch.

Europe

The Old Continent experienced the second hottest year on record, which was only surpassed in 2020, after registering the hottest summer and third hottest autumn, after 2020 and 2006, according to the report, which revealed that all of Europe, except for Iceland, recorded annual temperatures in above average from 1991-2020.

Persistent low rainfall, combined with high temperatures and other factors, led to widespread drought and unusually high fire activity in southwestern Europe, especially in Spain and France.

Emissions from bushfires between June and August were the highest for the EU and UK in 15 years. Only France, Spain, Germany and Slovenia have recorded the highest emissions from summer fires in the past 20 years.

Extreme events around the planet

In February, extensive sea ice from Antarctica showing the lowest daily rate in 44 years of satellite records. That from Antarctica reached a record or near record value for six months. Both polar regions are seeing record episodes of temperature.

For example at the station Vostok (Antarctica) -17.7°C was reached in March, the highest level on record for 65 years. In September, in the middle grazing land the average temperature for that month is surpassed by 8°C.

In the tropics and subtropics, extremely high pre-monsoon temperatures in Pakistan and northern India led to prolonged spring heatwaves that hit record highs and lows.

Central and eastern China experienced a prolonged heat wave, with consequent drought during the summer.

In July and August, Pakistan it recorded a record rainfall that caused large-scale flooding in large parts of the country.

Australia experiences below-average temperatures and episodes of widespread flooding, situations usually associated with ongoing La Niña phenomena and which may be exacerbated by soil saturation.

There is an urgent need to reduce emissions and adapt

The year 2022, was another year of extreme weather in Europe and around the world. This event shows that we are already experiencing the devastating consequences of global warming”, according to the deputy director of C3S, Samantha Burgess.

According to him, the C3S Global Climate 2022 report clearly shows that in order to avoid the “worst consequences”, society needs to “urgently” reduce carbon dioxide emissions and quickly adapt to climate change.

With information from EFE