Europe experienced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, as fossil fuel-driven climate change pushed the continent to endure its hottest year on record.
Flooding killed at least 335 people in Europe in 2024 and affected an estimated 413,000, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organisation said in a joint report on Europe's climate.
The two most destructive examples were the deluges that tore through central Europe in September and eastern Spain in October, which accounted for more than 250 of the 335 flooding deaths recorded across the continent in 2024.
Globally, 2024 was the world’s warmest year since records began, as well as the warmest for Europe – the planet’s fastest-warming continent.
Previous studies have shown that global heating has intensified and increased the likelihood of such disasters, as warmer temperatures allow clouds to unleash heavier rainfall.
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