What Climate Change Will Actually Look Like Where You Live

Europe and the Arctic: A Continent Losing Its Climate

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing by approximately 0.56°C per decade over the past 30 years. The Arctic is warming even faster, at around 0.75°C per decade.

The consequences are already visible. In 2025, at least 95% of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures. A three-week heatwave brought temperatures above 30°C inside the Arctic Circle for 21 consecutive days, with Norway’s Frosta reaching 34.9°C. Wildfires burned more than one million hectares, the largest area recorded, while snow cover fell 31% below average.

Mountain glaciers across Europe continued losing mass, and Greenland’s ice sheet lost 139 gigatonnes in 2025. Meanwhile, 86% of European seas experienced at least strong marine heatwaves.

The continent’s infrastructure, agriculture and ecosystems developed under climatic conditions that are rapidly disappearing. Cities designed around relatively mild summers face increasingly dangerous heat, while water-dependent agriculture and alpine tourism confront a shrinking snow season. Europe’s wealth provides resources for adaptation, but it cannot preserve the climate on which existing systems were built.