Is the climate crisis in Europe to blame for the unprecedently hot weather this summer? Experts think so. The United Kingdom recording its hottest day ever, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees+ in some areas. Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, also experienced record-breaking temperatures.
The mild weather continues as Europe is expected to have an unusually warm winter this year, with the temperature reaching 20 degrees in October in parts of The United Kingdom, Germany, and other central European countries.
Though the warm winter in Europe this year can be attributed to the jet streams which is a normal part of the weather patterns in Europe, many experts cite the climate crisis as the cause behind the unusually mild weather in October.
Experts believe that the climate crisis in Europe is exacerbating natural patterns because not only is Europe experiencing warm weather in traditionally cooler months, but heavy rain falls too which is more characteristic.
The Met Office has predicted unseasonably warm weather throughout much of Europe in the next couple of days, including the UK which has been experiencing above-average temperatures with temperatures cooling down to normal from November. That said, the met office expects unpredictable weather patterns.
While scientists suspect climate change is behind the mild weather in Europe, it’s hard to say whether it has a direct correlation to rising temperatures.
The UN’s environmental agency has expressed concern about the uncharacteristically mild weather. That said, global efforts are taking place to reduce carbon emissions.
Leaders will meet at the COP26 climate change conference to discuss further necessary action to cut carbon emissions. The COP26 conference will take place this November.
Sanctions on Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war have also encouraged many global leaders to turn to cleaner energy as they cut ties with Russia which before the war, have been one of the world’s largest suppliers of energy.
These actions could help to restore unpredictable weather patterns somewhat, but it’s unclear what the exact impact of this would be on temperature records in the future.
In the meantime, Scientists are generating cutting-edge tools to help us quantify climate change’s impact on the warm weather in Europe this winter.
