Name: Europe becomes the fastest-warming continent
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T23:52:40.706Z
Duration: 2 min 36 s
Description: Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, facing intensifying climate risks. This year saw exceptionally high temperatures across the region, as heatwaves, floods and droughts become more frequent and severe.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, facing intensifying climate risks. This year saw exceptionally high temperatures across the region, as heatwaves, floods and droughts become more frequent and severe.

Askri

Europe has become the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing by more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—exceeding the global average. This rapid warming has resulted in more frequent and severe heat waves, droughts, floods, and wildfires, including one of the worst wildfire seasons on record in 2025, where over a million hectares burned, primarily in Spain and Portugal.

Economic losses from extreme weather events in Europe totaled $870 billion between 1980 and 2023, with nearly a quarter of a million climate-related deaths recorded. In response, the European Union has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 37% since 1990 and has committed to a 90% reduction by 2040, viewing climate action as essential for survival.

Europe becomes the fastest-warming continent

This vineyard in central Greece is adapting to climate change. Farmers are planting higher up on the slopes of Mount Elykon, which casts an afternoon shadow over the vines, shortening the number of hours they are exposed to direct sun. Our answer is we are going higher in the mountain. We are in 500 meters and we are going 600 meters because we have more cold conditions and we have cold winds from the mountain Elykon that refresh all the grapes. And there are other adaptations too. These vines are being pruned to give them more foliage, which means they'll retain more moisture in the blistering summer heat. The pruning also means that they will have more bunches of grapes with smaller individual grapes per bunch, and that means they will suffer less evaporation and need less water. Europe is having to adapt quickly because it is the fastest warming continent on Earth. Temperatures have increased by more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, compared to the global average of less than 1.5 degrees. That has led to heat waves, droughts and floods. 2025 saw one of the worst wildfire seasons in the EU on record, with more than a million hectares burned, two-thirds of them in Spain and Portugal. Europe is beginning to count the cost of climate change. From 1980 to 2023, it incurred economic losses of $870 billion due to extreme weather, and the trend is accelerating. In the same period, it recorded almost a quarter of a million climate-related deaths. When we reach, as we reach, 2 degrees of global warming, economies will not even be able to pay for the damages, not plan for economic development, not invest in the future, but pay for the damages caused by floods, by heat waves. For this reason, the EU leads developed economies in mitigating climate change. It has slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 37% relative to 1990, and this year agreed to reduce them by 90% by 2040, seeing it as a matter of survival. John Saropoulos, Algeciras, Ascari, in central Greece.

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