2024 was a hot, wet year. In Western Europe, more rain fell than in most other years. Eastern European countries also suffered from extreme drought.
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The past year was not just the hottest in Europebut also characterized by violent storms and severe floods. The extreme weather conditions were valued by 413,000 people. As from the report published on Tuesday European State of the Climate 2024 ((Condition of the climate in Europe 2024), at least 335 people died as a result of extreme weather.
According to the report by the EU climate converter Copernicus and the World Organization for Meteorology (WMO), the climate in Europe was characterized by a pronounced east-west contrast in 2024. Although it was exceptionally warm everywhere – but while in the east there was also extremely dry conditions, the weather was rather moist in the West. Western Europe experienced one of the ten most rainfall years since 1950.