Average temperatures between June and August were nearly 1°C above the 1991-2020 average.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has said that this summer was officially Europe’s warmest on record.
In a statement, it said that the average temperature between June and August for Europe in 2021 was close to 1°C above the 1991-2020 average, making it the warmest summer in its dataset.
However, the service added that the previous warmest summers of 2010 and 2018 were only about 0.1°C cooler, calling the difference “a small margin”.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover and hydrological variables.
“All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world,” it said.
According to the service’s findings, August 2021 was, with August 2017, the joint third warmest on record globally at a little over 0.3°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average.
Meanwhile, for Europe, August 2021 was near the 1991-2020 average, but with contrasting conditions across the continent.
These included record-breaking maximum temperatures in Mediterranean countries, warmer-than-average temperatures in the east and generally below-average temperatures in the north.
Summer #temperature from #CopernicusClimate Change Service #C3S:
🌡️ Average June-Aug temp for Europe 2021 close to 1°C above 1991-2020 average, the warmest summer in our dataset
🌡️ Previous warmest 2010 & 2018 only 0.1°C cooler, a small margin.
More ➡️https://t.co/7K2bLHJSPv— Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) September 7, 2021
The EU statement comes after a report released in August by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which has been described as a “code red for humanity”.
The report states that human factors are “unequivocally” the cause of rapid changes to sea levels, melting polar ice and glaciers, heatwaves, floods and droughts.
The IPCC has warned that even if world governments can limit warming to 1.5C, sea level rises, the melting of Arctic ice, and the warming and acidification of the oceans are likely irreversible.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
