Europe's changing climate hazards: An index-based interactive EEA report

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new ‘Europe’s changing climate hazards’ is an interactive report that gives an overview of past and projected changes in Europe’s most important climate hazards and how they impact European regions. The report, developed with the support of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and other EEA partners, gives access to both generalised and detailed information on regional climate hazards as well as insights into how these hazards can affect ecosystems and economic sectors. The report echoes the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that climate change is undeniably responsible for an increase in extreme weather events but provides more detailed information for Europe.

The report notes several key messages: Primarily, that climate change due to human activities is now undeniably responsible for an increase in extreme weather events in Europe; that pronounced regional differences in conditions mean that one-size-fits-all responses are no match for the growing threat that these climate hazards pose to property and lives; that people everywhere need to be prepared for more days with extreme temperatures and for more extreme precipitation events; that high-quality, enriched data are crucial to assess who is likely to be affected and how, yet not all EEA member countries have had access to such fine-grained data; and that the EEA's tools help European countries to implement their policies on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, under the European Climate Law and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.