How Has Climate Change Affected Countries in Europe?
This interactive map below illustrates the extent to which European countries have been affected by climate change, based on the four indicators mentioned above — with 0 being the least affected, and 100 being the most affected.Climate Change Effects on European Countries
Based on the scale from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the more the country has been affected.
The European Countries Most and Least Affected by Climate Change
Based on GreenMatch’s findings in the map above, Lithuania is the most affected European country, whereas Iceland is the least affected. We will now elaborate on the three European countries that have been most and least affected by climate change.The 3 European Countries Most Affected by Climate Change
1. Lithuania
According to GreenMatch’s findings, Lithuania has been seeing a significantly high rise in sea levels compared to the other European countries that were a part of the study, with an increase of 4.46 mm per year between 1970 and 2015. The sea temperature in Lithuania has increased by 0.73 °C, from 1960 to 2014, sharing the first place with five other countries. The surface temperature has increased the most, with an increase of 0.325 °C per decade, again sharing the first place with six other countries. Finally, the precipitation in Lithuania has increased by 20 mm per decade, between 1960 and 2015. All indicators considered, Lithuania ended up with a total score of 75.04.2. Finland
Coming in second: Finland. The surface temperature in Finland increased by 0.314 °C per decade, whereas precipitation saw the exact same increase of 20 mm per decade, as in Lithuania. Furthermore, the sea temperature in Finland has increased by 0.73 °C, from 1970 to 2015, whereas the sea level has seen a decrease of 4.26 mm per year. However, according to the National Land Survey of Finland, new land has been appearing from the sea for centuries due to the Fennoscandian land uplift. It might, therefore, be difficult to determine the extent to which the sea level drop in Finland has been caused by climate change. After combining the different indicators, Finland ended up with a total score of 72.96.3. Latvia
The data for Latvia showed very similar results to Lithuania, with three of the indicators ending up with the exact same score. The only indicator where Latvia had a lower score than Lithuania is the rise in sea levels. However, compared to most other European countries, Latvia has still seen a high rise in sea levels, with an increase of 4.02 mm per year between 1970 and 2015. All indicators considered, Latvia ended up with a total score of 72.82.The 3 European Countries Least Affected by Climate Change
1. Iceland
According to GreenMatch’s study, Iceland turned out to be the European country that has been affected by climate change the least. Iceland saw an average change in surface temperatures, with a 0.275 °C increase per decade. Compared to the other European countries in our study, Iceland has seen by far the lowest increase in sea temperatures, with a slight increase of 0.208 °C, from 1960 to 2014 — being significantly lower than the European average of 0.621 °C, as well as the global average of 0.327 °C. Additionally, sea levels have increased by 1.31 mm per year, from 1970 to 2015, which is 0.71 mm lower than the European average. Finally, precipitation in Iceland has been increasing significantly compared to other European countries. Their precipitation increased by 35 mm per decade, between 1960 and 2015, whereas the average precipitation in Europe, in fact, decreased by 1.95 mm per decade. After combining these indicators, Iceland ended up with a total score of 36.07.2. Greece
The second country least affected by climate change turned out to be Greece. Greece saw by far the lowest change in surface temperature, with an increase of only 0.075 °C per decade. On the other hand, the Greek seas have become 0.706 °C warmer between 1960 and 2014. This is relatively high compared to many other countries in Europe. Sea levels have seen an increase of 2.01 mm per year, from 1970 to 2015. Finally, precipitation in Greece has been decreasing by 20 mm per decade between 1960 and 2015. These indicators combined have given Greece a total score of 37.15.3. Norway
The third country least affected by climate change is Norway. Out of all the European countries part of the study, Norway saw the highest increase in precipitation, with an increase of 37.14 mm per decade between 1960 and 2015. Just like Iceland, Norway’s surface temperature increased by 0.275 °C per decade. Furthermore, sea levels saw a slight rise of 0.25 mm per year, from 1970 to 2015, which is 1.78 mm lower than the European average. Finally, sea temperatures in Norway have been increasing by 0.439 °C per decade, thereby being below the European average. These indicators combined have given Norway a total score of 41.91.How Is the UK Doing in Comparison to Europe’s Average?
Out of the 32 European countries that have been a part of the study, the UK was revealed to be the 8thcountry least affected by climate change. The UK came out of the test with a total score of 49.35 out of 100, which is 6.01 better than the European average. The table below compares the UK’s results with Europe’s average for each indicator.
Natural Disasters in European Countries 1960‒2019
According to the World Meteorological Organization, change in the frequency, intensity, and variability of extreme weather events — such as drought, extreme heat, flooding, and extreme precipitation — is one of the most important impacts of climate change. Using consistent and meaningful indicators has been proposed as a way to reflect upon the global influence of climate change on extreme events. However, it is very important to keep in mind that it is too early to tell how such indicators may relate to climate change. In order to get an overall, estimated understanding of the climate conditions in Europe, GreenMatch has looked into trends surrounding extreme events in European countries between 1960 and 2019. The map below illustrates the total number of extreme events per European country between 1960 and 2019.
As illustrated in the map above, France has experienced the most extreme events since 1960. The country has experienced a total of 48 floods and 62 storms during those years, which is significantly higher than most other European countries.
Iceland, Finland, and Estonia stand out from the crowd with very few extreme events, with Iceland experiencing only one extreme event since 1960: a flood.
Interactive Graph: Trends of Extreme Events in Europe
In addition to the map above, GreenMatch has created an interactive graph that shows the trend of extreme events in European countries between 1960 and 2019.
The graph shows a tremendous increase in the number of storms around the early 90s: a total of 66 storms in all the selected countries. After 1990, Europe saw a lot more extreme events than before, particularly droughts and extreme temperatures.
