The Netherlands had more wet days last year and above average precipitation, as Europe registered again record-breaking temperatures, a report by the EU Earth observation programme Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reveals.

According to the European State of the Climate report published on Tuesday, Europe is the fastest-warming continent with an average temperature last year 2.4° Celsius above pre-industrial times (1850–1900).

Data analysed by Copernicus and the WMO shows that 2024 was the warmest year for Europe, with “a striking east-west contrast in climate conditions”. The east saw “extremely dry and often record-warm conditions”, while the west had “warm but wet conditions”.

Western Europe saw one of the 10 wettest years since 1950, with “the most above-average precipitation observed in France, northern Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and northern Fennoscandia”.

In France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, there were “30-40 more wet days than average”, according to the study.

Widespread flooding

Europe also experienced widespread floods and storms in 2024, which affected an estimated 413,000 people and caused the loss of 335 lives. The Netherlands was hit last May.

Sea surface temperature was the highest on record, at 0.7° Celsius above average, and 1.2° in the Mediterranean.

Some 60% of Europe saw more days than average with at least “strong heat stress”, if not severe. This concerned especially southeastern Europe during summer. The area of land with fewer than three months of frost days reached approximately 69%, against an average of 50%.

Glaciers also kept retreating, with the highest mass loss rates recorded in Scandinavia and Svalbard.

An estimated 42,000 people were also affected by wildfires across Europe.

Construction

Florence Rabier, head of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which operates the Copernicus climate programme, said the report highlights “the importance of building greater resilience.”

The report also says that extreme weather poses increasing risks to the built environment and infrastructures. Just over half Europe’s cities now have a dedicated climate adaptation plan compared to 26% in 2018.

Examples from the Netherlands included replacing paving tiles with greenery through “tile whipping” competitions to deal with both floods and heatwaves. But developers too are increasingly incorporating green roofs to absorb water and more trees to offset heat stress in their projects.

Heather Brooks, policy advisor at Eurocities, an organisation representing cities at the EU level, said that Utrecht and Enschede have policies in place to deal with heating and intense rain.

Water storage

In Utrecht, a 12-lane motorway was demolished to open up an old waterway which “provides a green, cool and biodiverse corridor between the central station into the city centre,” Brooks said. Recently the city announced a “no roof unused” policy to understand the best-suited tiles and launched “biodiverse bus stop roof tops,” she added.

Enschede is also dealing with more heavy rain by transforming streets and squares into water retention areas. Rotterdam, which is mostly below sea level, also has many measures to deal with excess water in place, including floating homes and water storage areas.

“Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet. Adaptation is a must,” said WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo.