What if we told you rapid heating of our dear planet wasn't just a subplot straight out of an apocalyptic Marvel movie but an actual, happening-right-now scenario, with Europe playing the not-so-lucky protagonist? More action thriller than rom-com, our heroine survived 2024 with a lot less cool wind in her hair and a lot more hot water at her feet. 

Biblical Floods: The New Norm

Next time you're planning a Euro road trip, maybe swap the convertible for an ark. According to a new European State of the Climate report, 2024 left over 400,000 people knee-deep in a real disaster movie, courtesy of the destructive storms and floods that swept the continent. Floods that were downright Noah-esque in nature, with 30% of the European river network experiencing 'high' floods and 12% breaching the 'severe' threshold. Don't recall this in your last weather app update? Neither did the drivers trying to navigate piles of cars on streets better suited for gondolas.

Spoiler: It's Climate Change

In the apt phrase of every armchair detective, it's no coincidence. Thanks to global heating juicing up our clouds with buckets more rain, we've got a heavyweight tag team of floods on steroids. Think of it as Mother Nature's less popular, chaotic version of a summer blockbuster. With a record-breaking hottest year on record under its belt, Europe needs to invest in weather-proof popcorn, and plenty of it.

A Tale of Two Weathers

But it's not just a drench-fest over here; we've got dry heat on the menu too. In a twist worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan movie, there's an increasing contrast between the weather of western Europe (wet and gloomy) and that of the east (warm and sunny). The Thames had some of the highest flows ever. But don't take too long snapping that perfect Instagram pic; our eastern mates are dealing with below average river flows and intense heatwaves that would make Dante's Inferno feel like an IKEA freezer section.

Burn, Baby, Burn

Good news for marshmallow lovers, not so great for the rest of us. With infernos strong enough to make 42,000 people reevaluate their BBQ plans, 2024 saw Europe's longest heatwave roast more than half of South-eastern Europe for a toasty 13 days in a row. The fallout: devastating wildfires in Portugal that turned about 110,000 hectares of land into a bonfire party nobody RSVP'd for.

Outlook:

If we don't want to RSVP for a front-row seat at the 'Earth on Fire: Live' show, we've got to turn down the thermostat, pronto. And that involves putting the fossil fuel industry on a short leash and speeding up our climate action plans. Europe's playing hardball, aiming for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But given the continent is warming twice as fast as the global average, it's high time the rest of the world joined the fight against the real 'endgame' – global heating.

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