VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water - 

Climate change is taking a major human, economic and environmental toll in Europe, the fastest warming continent of the world.

The year 2022 was marked by extreme heat, drought and wildfires. Sea surface temperatures around Europe reached new highs, accompanied by marine heatwaves. Glacier melt was unprecedented.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, the State of the Climate in Europe 2022 report, the second in an annual series, was produced jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

But, in a sign of hope for the future, renewable energy generated more electricity than polluting fossil fuels for the first time last year. Wind and solar power generated 22.3% of European Union (EU) electricity in 2022, overtaking fossil fuel (20%).

“For the first time, more electricity was generated by wind and solar than by fossil fuel in the EU. Increasing use of renewables and low-carbon energy sources is crucial to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

“Climate services play a key role in ensuring the resilience of energy systems to climate-related shocks, in planning operations, and in informing measures to increase energy efficiency,” he added.

The report has a special focus on energy and highlights how more extreme weather, including intense heat, heavy precipitation and droughts have growing implications for the supply, demand and infrastructure of Europe’s energy system.

According to a survey of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) conducted by the WMO, 83% of Members in Europe reported providing climate services for energy.

However, less than half provide climate predictions for the energy sector. There is therefore untapped potential of NMHSs to support the energy transition.

The WMO State of the Climate in Europe 2021, is the second edition of climate reports to be published annually by the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Association for Europe (WMO-RA6) and the European Union's Earth observation programme, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)//VOI