MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The 2022 summer was the hottest in Europe's recorded history

Low water levels on the Rhine River in Germany have disrupted supply chains, as some ships were unable to traverse the waterway fully loaded

The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced on Thursday. It is the second summer in a row of record-breaking temperatures in Europe.

“Temperatures in Europe had been at their highest on record for both the month of August and the June/August querter, as a whole”, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said, adding data showed August was the hottest month yet recorded by a “substantial margin” of 0.4 degrees Celsius.

“An intense series of heat-waves across Europe, paired with unusually dry conditions, have led to a summer of extremes with records in terms of temperature, drought and fire activity in many parts of Europe, affecting society and nature in various ways,” senior C3S scientist Freja Vamborg said.

“Data shows that we've not only had record August temperatures for Europe but also for summer, with the previous summer record only being one year old,” she added. In addition, August 2022 was generally much drier on average in Western Europe and parts of the East. In Southeastern Europe and parts of Scandinavia, there was more rain than usual.

Much of the northern hemisphere has been battling droughts and wildfires as a result of rising temperatures. In late August, the European Commission said that around two thirds of the continent was experiencing drought.

Low water levels on the Rhine River in Germany have disrupted supply chains, as some ships were unable to traverse the waterway fully loaded. On Wednesday, a World Meteorological Organization report said that longer droughts and more frequent heat waves are fuelling wild fires that worsen air quality. The report described the consequences for human health and ecosystems a “climate penalty.”