The European environment – state and outlook 2010

Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012: This European Environment Agency (EEA) report presents information on past and projected climate change and related impacts in Europe, based on a range of indicators. The report also assesses the vulnerability of society, human health and ecosystems in Europe and identifies those regions in Europe most at risk from climate change. Furthermore, the report discusses the principle sources of uncertainty for the indicators and notes how monitoring and scenario development can improve our understanding of climate change, its impacts and related vulnerabilities.
Located in Publications
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
State and trend of fire danger: Fire danger is expressed by the Seasonal Severity Rating (SSR). Daily severity values can be averaged over the fire season using the SSR index, which allows objective comparison of fire danger from year to year and from region to region. The coarse scale of the map does not allow accounting for specific conditions of given sites, as for example in the Alpine region, where the complex topography may strongly affect local fire danger.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Urban flooding — impervious surfaces reduce the drainage of rain water and increase the risk for urban flooding: The map shows the average soil sealing degree inside the UMZ of European core cities (core city defined in Urban Atlas / Urban Audit). Soil sealing degrees are represented in coloured dots. The city dots are overlaid onto a modelled map displaying the change in annual number of days with heavy rainfall between the reference periods 1961-1990 and 2071-2100.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Ice road: Environmental Atlas of Europe - Finland: If you want to go to the island of Hailuoto in the Gulf of Bothnia during winter, it’s faster to take the 8 km ice road rather than go by ferry. But the ice has to reach 70 cm in thickness before it’s safe enough to drive over.
Located in The Environmental Atlas › … › Ice road › Video
Global warning: early warnings on adaptation: Climate change is the ever growing reality faced by the inhabitants of the Arctic regions. They must adapt to the changing landscapes, increasing temperatures, disappearing species, new hunting techniques. In this video, several leaders of indigenous peoples' organizations, represented in the Arctic Council, share their thoughts and concerns about the changes in their lifestyles brought on by the changing climate.
Located in Environmental topics › Climate change › Multimedia
One degree matters: 'One degree matters' follows social and business leaders as they travel to Greenland and experience for themselves the dramatic effects of the melting of the ice cap and come to understand the planetary effects of climate change and the impacts these will have on society and the economy. The film brings to the screen the latest science from the Arctic and shows why a further rise in global temperature of one degree matters for the future of humankind.
Located in Multimedia centre
Living with Climate change: Global warming is happening. Temperatures have already risen by 0.76 degrees since the industrial revolution and are projected to rise further by 1.8 - 4 degrees by the end of the century. The last time climate change happened at this pace was 125,000 years ago and led to a 4-6 metre sea level rise. Global warming at the upper end of the scale predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would have catastrophic consequences for Europe. Up to 30% of plant, animal and bird species would be wiped out and the threat of natural disasters such as landslides, floods and mudslides would increase significantly.
Located in Environmental topics › Climate change › Multimedia
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
Extreme weather variations with climate change: (This video has no audio.) In the past decade Europe has been affected by three remarkable weather extremes. The summers of 1995 and 2003 were extremely hot throughout most parts of Europe. In contrast, 2002 was very wet and saw extreme flooding in central Europe. Changes are also projected for the amount of rainfall in Europe, which could more pronounced flooding. Cold winters (which occurred once every 10 years from 1961 to 1990) are likely to become rare and will almost entirely disappear by 2080. In contrast, by 2080 nearly every summer in many parts of Europe is projected to be hotter than the 10 % hottest summers in the current climate. In southern Europe, these changes are projected to occur even earlier (in Spain by the 2020s) (Parry, 2000). This could have severe consequences for agriculture, water resources and the frequency of forest fires in southern Europe. Source: EEA Report No 2/2004 "Impacts of Europe's changing climate" (published 18 Aug 2004)
Located in Environmental topics › Climate change › Multimedia