Europe had hottest summer on record last year 

A forest fire near the village of Pefki on Evia island, Greece's second largest island, last August. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images

Europe saw its hottest summer on record last year, while rainfall also broke previously recorded levels, as greenhouse gases from carbon dioxide, and methane in particular, continued to rise throughout the year.

Those are just some of the findings from the European Commission-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service, which analyses data "using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world".

In a global context, the last seven years were the warmest on record, with 2021 ranking between fifth and seventh warmest, Copernicus said, but Europe in isolation saw its warmest ever summer at 1C higher than the 1991 to 2020 average.

Heatwave events were not the only notable extreme weather patterns. Copernicus scientists explained prolonged rainfall saturated soil so much in parts of Germany and Belgium, that when they saw record one-day deluges on July 14, the rain had nowhere to go, causing the severe floods that devastated the countries.

Lower wind speeds

The implications for renewable energy are also seen in the report, with some countries seeing some of the lowest annual wind speeds since at least 1979.

Lower than average wind speeds led to reduced potential for wind energy production in some western European countries, Copernicus said.

Ireland's energy cost headaches have been exacerbated in recent months by the wind speed drops, with wind turbines contributing much less than normal to generating power on the all-Ireland power grid.

Prolonged heatwaves across the Mediterranean saw temperature records broken in Italy and Spain, with Sicily provisionally breaking an all-time temperature record when recording a 48.8C reading on August 11, nearly a full degree higher than the previous record.

Wildfires

This intense period of heat led to a range of wildfires throughout the region.

"During the summer heatwave, many temperature records were broken, including a provisional national record for Spain at 47°C and a provisional European record of 48.8°C in Italy. In parts of Italy, Greece, and Turkey, the heatwave lasted for two to three weeks. 

"Additionally, the widespread dry conditions were conducive to numerous, devastating wildfires, particularly in
Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The total area burnt during July and August in the Mediterranean region exceeded 800,000 hectares," Copernicus said.

Rise in methane levels

The rise in methane levels has proven to be a particular headache for various governments across the world. It has become a conundrum for Irish political leaders, with scientists saying it is a real driver of the country’s emissions, but politicians are reluctant to take action that would alienate rural voters.

Beef and dairy cattle are among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with cows mainly generating methane through digestion and waste. Talks of a cut or cap to the size of the national herd have been met with fierce resistance from farming lobbyists, while Government figures have shied away from the politically-charged talk of doing so.