The summer of 2021 was the warmest in Europe, with temperatures slightly higher than those achieved in 2010 and 2018, which were the warmest years since there are records.
A summer that was not only marked by the heat waves suffered by Greece, Spain or Italy -Sicily recorded a historical record of 48.8 ºC that should still be confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization – but by numerous and destructive extreme weather phenomena
: devastating fires in Greece, Turkey and other countries in the Mediterranean area and the strong flooding in Central European of July that affected Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and in which more than 200 people died.
This highlights the COPERNICUS (C3S) Climate Change Service Report of the European Union presented on Monday.
A work documenting how the last seven years have been, with wide margin and worldwide, the hottest since measurements are made and notes that carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions followed up.
“These events are a crude reminder of the need for us to change our habits, we give decisive and effective steps towards a sustainable society and work to reduce net carbon emissions,” said Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus climate change service,
During the presentation of the results.
In the analysis of those seven warmer years since temperatures are measured, 2021 has been next to 2015 one of the freshest.
Specifically, it is located as the fifth year warmer, when recording an average temperature that was 0.3 ° C greater than that of the reference period (1991-2020) and between 1.1 and 1.2 ° C higher than
Those who registered between 1850 and 1900, at the beginning of the industrial age.
As regards the world average of 2021, there have been important differences over the months.
The first five were characterized by having relatively low temperatures compared to that of the preceding years, which had been very hot.
Between June and October, however, the trend changed and the monthly records were among the four warmer measured so far.
Also in Europe there were very marked fluctuations during the 12 months.
After a relatively warm March, a cold period arrived in April that caused late frost in the western areas of the continent to give way to a very hot June and July.
Compared to the reference period of the last 30 years (between 1991 and 2020), regions with more temperatures above average comprise a wide strip ranging from the west coast of the US and Canada – which have also suffered forest fires
Very serious- to the northeast of Canada and Greenland, as well as large parts of the center and north of Africa and the Middle East.
At the other extreme, there were lower temperatures to the average in the west and the eastern end of Russia, Alaska, the center and east of the Pacific – simultaneously with the conditions of the girl early at the end of the year – most of the
Australia and some areas of Antarctica.
The measurements made by the satellites of the Copernicus network also reflect that the concentrations of greenhouse gases, principal responsible for climate change, continued to increase by 2021 and as Vincent-Henri Peuch, Director of the Atmospheric Surveillance Service of Copernicus, “No
They give signals of slowdown. ”
The average column worldwide of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached an annual record of approximately 414 parts per million (ppm), and that of methane (CH4) an annual record of approximately 1,876 parts per trillion (PPB).
Forest fires contributed to increase carbon emissions.
The derivatives of these amounted to 1,850 megatonidos, especially due to the fires that have ravaged Siberia.
A figure that slightly exceeds that was reached in 2020 (1,750 megatonne of carbon emissions), although the trend since 2003 is downward.
While CO2 emissions are directly linked to the burning of fossil fuels and fires, Copernicus scientists explain that “it is difficult to identify the origin of the increase in methane because this gas comes from many sources, some of which are anthropogenic (
As for example, the exploitation of oil and gas deposits), although there are also natural or seminatural (such as wetlands) “.
