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Climate change — time to act: Climate change is a real and current threat. To avoid major irreversible impacts on society and ecosystems, we must act now.
Located in Multimedia centre
Global and European temperature (CSI 012/CLIM 001) - Assessment published Oct 2005: The increase in global mean temperature observed over recent decades is unusual in terms of both magnitude and rate of change. The temperature increase up to 2004 was about 0.7 +/- 0.2 degrees C compared with pre-industrial levels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global mean temperature is likely to increase by 1.4-5.8 degrees C between 1990 and 2100, assuming no climate change policies. The EU target might be exceeded between 2040 and 2070. The current global rate of change is about 0.18 +/- 0.05 degrees C per decade, a value probably exceeding any 100-year average rate of warming during the past 1 000 years.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Global and European temperature
Effects of climate change: In the past 100 years, the number of cold and frost days has decreased in most parts of Europe, whereas the number of days with temperatures above 25°C and the number of heatwaves have increased. The frequency of very wet days has significantly decreased in recent decades in many places in southern Europe, but increased in mid and northern Europe. Cold winters are projected to disappear almost entirely by 2080 and hot summers are projected to become much more frequent. This will have a continuing effect on mountain regions. For every 1°C increase in temperature, the snowline rises by 150 metres. And by 2050, three-quarters of today's glaciers in parts of the Alps are expected to have disappeared. Source: State of the Environment Report No 1/2005 "The European environment - State and outlook 2005" (published 29 Nov 2005)
Located in Environmental topics › Climate change › Multimedia
Forests, health and climate change: Forests are essential to our survival and well-being. Forests clean our air, our water, our soil and they regulate our climate, amongst many other things. Trees and forests are not always associated with urban landscapes. However, there too they provide invaluable, often invisible, services. Simply by acting as 'green oasis' in our concrete jungles, they offer recreation and health services for many European citizens.
Located in Articles
Burnt areas in Portugal, summer 2003: Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Forests, health and climate change: Urban green spaces, forests for cooler cities and healthier people
Located in Publications
Europe must adapt to stay ahead of a changing climate: As Europe’s climate warms, wine producers in Europe may need to change the type of grapes they cultivate or the location of vineyards, even moving production to other areas in some cases. This is just one example of how Europe’s economy and society need to adapt to climate change, as examined in a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Located in Press room › News
Heat waves — both a low share of green and blue urban areas and high population densities can contribute to the urban heat island effect in cities: The cities are displayed as dots of different colours and sizes. The colours represent the share of green and blue urban areas inside the Urban Morphological Zone of the city, the size of the dots reflects the population density within the core cities’ UMZ. The background map is the result of climatic modelling and represents the number of combined tropical nights (T>20°C) and hot days (T>35°C) for the period 2071 to 2100.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Urban climate analysis map for the city of Arnhem, the Netherlands: The map shows different climate classifications of the areas in the city of Arnheim
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Heat wave risk of European cities: The share of green (vegetated) and blue (water) areas within cities (2006) can influence the urban heat island effect. Also, population density is associated with increasing this effect of cities and exacerbate the effects of heat waves.
Located in Data and maps › Interactive maps