Klimadienst: Ebbe in Flüssen - Westeuropa erlebt weiter Rekord-Wetter

In September, Europe experienced unusually warm and dry conditions, with the month being the warmest since record-keeping began, according to the EU climate change service Copernicus. The temperature was 2.51 degrees above the average of 1991-2020. The region had already seen its warmest summer on record. Much of western and central Europe, as well as parts of eastern Europe, remained dry, with several regions experiencing even more extreme drought than in August.

Sections of the Rhine, Danube, and Vistula rivers had water levels lower than in any September since records began, affecting shipping, water supply, and agriculture. Copernicus reported that shipping, water supply, and agriculture were impacted in several countries. Rain fell at the end of the month, providing some relief in France and Spain, but floods also occurred.

Parts of northern and northeastern Europe were unusually wet. Globally, it was the second warmest September since records began, with the average temperature 1.63 degrees above pre-industrial levels, the second month in a row above 1.5 degrees. Copernicus predicts that this trend, driven by an intensifying El Niño, will continue until 2027.

Sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions were the warmest ever recorded in September. "The crossing of the long-term Paris Agreement threshold is only a matter of time," said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo. "How far and how long we cross it is up to us." The 1.5-degree target refers to a long-term average, individual months do not signify breaching the limit.

In 2015, around 200 nations agreed to limit global warming compared to pre-industrial times to well below 2 degrees, and preferably to 1.5 degrees.