In 2020, annual temperature for Europe was the highest on record
The annual temperature for Europe in 2020 was the highest on record – at least 0.4 degrees Celsius warmer than the next five warmest years, which all occurred during the past decade.
This is according to the European State of the Climate 2020 (ESOTC 2020) report, released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission.
The Copernicus services monitor data on a global scale, including surface air temperature, precipitation, sea ice area and atmospheric greenhouse gases. The 2020 report underlines how temperatures continue a clear warming trajectory.
For the Arctic as a whole, 2020 was the second warmest year on record with an air surface temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius above the 1981-2010 average.
While the early part of 2020 was colder than average over large parts of the Arctic, summer and autumn made up for this with both seasons having the highest temperatures on record.
The report’s findings come from measurements from satellites and ground stations and from global reanalysis data – computer modelling combined with multiple data sources, as well as from model-derived estimates.
(Photo: Stacy Brumley/freeimages.com)
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