Climate change impacts, risks and adaptation

Climate change is already impacting Europeans’ daily lives and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Europe is expected to get warmer, some regions getting drier, while others wetter. These changes will not only impact our health but also the ecosystems we depend on. The EU is preparing to live with a changing climate through various adaptation measures.

Climate change is happening now — and even if we effectively reduce global emissions, it will continue to impact our lives. Flooding, droughts, heatwaves and other climate-related hazards are becoming more intense, longer and more frequent. These hazards carry significant health and economic impacts. Some communities and regions are more vulnerable, but over all, Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks.

Extreme weather events like storms, heatwaves and flooding accounted for 85,000 to 145,000 human fatalities across Europe, over the past 40 years. Over 85% of those fatalities were due to heatwaves. Economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes in Europe reached around half a trillion euros over the same period .

Less than a third of non-human losses were covered by insurance. Closing the climate protection gap by increasing insurance coverage can help increase societies’ ability to recover from disasters, reduce vulnerability, and promote resilience.

Building infrastructure that is resistant to hazards and using nature-based solutions like floodplains are examples of adaptation measures. Climate change adaptation measures are critical to increase our resilience and reduce disaster risks for all people in the EU.

Climate change is impacting Europe's environment and people in many ways. Extreme weather events like heatwaves, storm surges, droughts, and floods have the most significant effects.

There are 36 major climate risks for Europe within five broad clusters (as identified by the EEA): ecosystems, food, health, infrastructure, and economy and finance. Eight of them are particularly urgent, mainly to conserve ecosystems, protect people against heat, protect people and infrastructure from floods and wildfires, and to secure the viability of European solidarity mechanisms, such as the EU Solidarity Fund.
Extreme weather has health impacts, particularly on vulnerable groups. The elderly, children and people in poor health are more likely to be affected by heatwaves, for example.
Global mean temperature between 2013 and 2023 was 1.19 to 1.22°C warmer than the pre-industrial level, which makes it the warmest decade on record. European land temperatures have increased even faster over the same period by 2.12 to 2.19°C.
Between 1980 and 2023, weather- and climate-related extremes caused economic losses of EUR 738 billion in the European Union, with over EUR 162 billion (22%) between 2021 and 2023.
Diseases are moving north. Mosquitos and ticks carrying infectious diseases are gaining a foothold in many parts of Europe.
Arctic sea ice has declined by an average of 74,000 km² in summer and 32,000 km² in winter since 1979.
Severe droughts caused a 3% annual vegetation productivity loss in affected areas from 2000-2019.
Forest fires coinciding with record droughts and heatwaves affected central and northern European regions that are not typically prone to fires and had devastating effects in southern Europe.

Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks

Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, and climate risks are threatening its energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability, and people’s health.

Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and flooding, as experienced in recent years, will worsen in Europe even under optimistic global warming scenarios and affect living conditions throughout the continent. The EEA has published the first ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) to help identify policy priorities for climate change adaptation and for climate-sensitive sectors.

According to our assessment, many of these risks have already reached critical levels and could become catastrophic without urgent and decisive action.

Find out more in our assessment

Igor Popovic, Climate Change PIX /EEA

Orhan Kartal, Climate Change PIX /EEA

How are extreme weather events influencing adaptation policies?

Climate-proofing the agriculture, energy and transport sectors should not only be seen as a cost, but also as an investment that can prevent billions of euros in losses from increasingly frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.

‘Making agriculture, energy and transport climate resilient’ shows how such investment can deliver a triple dividend: reducing losses, saving lives and protecting people, while also unlocking economic potential, including job creation and improved competitiveness.

Find out more in our briefing

Explore Climate-ADAPT website

ImageIgor Popovic, Climate Change PIX /EEA

Georgi Georgiev, Urban Treasures / EEA

How small municipalities contribute to climate adaptation

With around 40% of Europeans living in small municipalities, climate adaptation efforts must go beyond larger cities. The EEA briefing ‘Small but mighty — climate resilience in Europe’s small municipalities’ presents inspiring local case studies showing how municipalities are building resilience through leadership, collaboration and integration into plans and policies.

At the same time, limited funding, staff shortages, restricted access to data and expertise, and unclear responsibilities continue to constrain action.

Ways to support local climate resilience

Climate resilience must "leave no one behind"

As climate change impacts intensify across Europe, society must become better prepared — but everyone must be included. A new EEA report shows that vulnerable groups like the elderly, children, low-income households and people with disabilities, are most at risk and often do not benefit fairly from climate adaptation efforts.

The report urges all levels of government to put social justice at the heart of climate adaptation, with clear actions to build a resilient and inclusive Europe.

Climate change impacts, risks and adaptation

Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks

How are extreme weather events influencing adaptation policies?

How small municipalities contribute to climate adaptation

Climate resilience must "leave no one behind"

More information

Other topics you might be interested in:

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Climate change impacts, risks and adaptation

Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks

How are extreme weather events influencing adaptation policies?

Climate-ADAPT platform: Sharing adaptation knowledge for a climate-resilient Europe

How small municipalities contribute to climate adaptation

Climate resilience must "leave no one behind"

More information

Other topics you might be interested in:

External links: