climate records and threats to Lithuania

Nearly a hundred scientists have contributed to the preparation of the European Climate Conditions report in 2024, with the increasingly obvious effects of climate change and state that Europe is the fastest warming continent.

This annual report presents a detailed analysis of last year’s European climate trends, which presents annual temperature changes and many other indicators related to various climate phenomena.

Crossed the limit

2024 has been the warmest year throughout the temperature monitoring period-this record series has lasted for ten consecutive years since 2015. Such an exceptional period of record temperatures is increasingly affected by human health, ecosystems, agriculture, demand for energy and other areas of economic and social life. In addition, climate change also increases the number of natural cataclysms caused by extreme weather conditions, from heat waves, drought and forest fires to severe storms and floods.

There are quite a few hopes that this trend will change-the 2024s were the first calendar year, when the average temperature climbed the Paris climate agreement, which, according to world scientists, begins to pose a life-threatening Earth. The Intergovernmental Climate Change Commission warns that the average world temperature over one and a half -grade warming boundary compared to the pre -prior to the pre -exaltable period will give the planet a Domino effect of climate abnormalities and that changes will be no longer reversed with all the ecological, social and economic influences that survive. In essence, this means that efforts to stop climate change are no longer sufficient – humanity also needs to find ways to adapt to this destructive phenomenon.

Moreover, Copernicus, an EU climate service and the World Meteorological Organization, have sad news for Europe as well-the 2024 climate report also states that since the 1980s, Europe is twice as fast as the world average, so it is recognized as the fastest-warming continent. This status of Europe is determined by the fact that part of its territory is in the Arctic, which warms extremely fast – on the other hand, the rapid climate warming in Europe is determined by increasingly and intense waves of summer heat.

Photo by Sender Senders

Record climate abnormalities

The EU climate service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization for 2024 European Climate Condition reports that last year, a record annual temperature in the entire European is throughout the history of observation. The largest area of ​​record temperatures included Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe, as well as Northern Scandinavia and Southeast Spain.

In other parts of Europe, it was also warmer than usual – about 85 percent. The continent is fixed much higher than the average temperature.

The highest positive temperature deviations reaching 2-3 degrees above the average are recorded in Eastern and Southeast Europe. On average, 45 percent. days last year in Europe was much warmer than usual, about 12 percent. The days were the warmest throughout the temperature monitoring period, and about 69 percent. The temperature of the European territory dropped below zero was less than three months, which is the largest fixed area with such a small number of cold days.

The European climate report of 2024 also states that last July last year in southeastern Europe has reached a heat wave record, and as long as six heat waves were recorded in the summer of 2024, which lasted 13 days and had a plus 9.2 degrees of heat abnormality. This heat wave affected as much as 55 percent. The continent was the second strongest heat wave in Europe since 2007. From June 1, 2024 to September 5, 2024, the heat waves were fixed in Europe as long as 43 days, and the breaks between them lasted only 3 days in August. The report notes that the number of so -called tropical nights, when the temperature does not fall below 20 degrees and days, with severe heat stress, when the sensory temperature exceeds 32 degrees.

Photo by Sender Senders

Lithuania is no exception: 18 heat records this year alone

Lithuania is no exception in this case – according to the Hydrometeorological Service, as many as a third of the year has passed, as many as 18 heat records have already been reached in our country. Just as many of them were recorded last year, which were the warmest in the history of temperature monitoring in Lithuania. According to the service, in 2023 16 heat records were recorded in 16, 2022 – 13 and 6 in 2021. These temperature monitoring data responds with global trends and demonstrates that the climate is warming extremely fast.

According to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service, until the absolute April heat record – 31 degrees C – only 2 degrees, but as many as 9 of the 18 major Lithuanian meteorological stations were recorded local April heat records. According to the service, the eighteenth of April was the warmest April day in the entire temperature monitoring history and so far the warmest day of 2025. In four areas – Kretinga, Pagėgiai, Šilutė and Tauragė – the air is heated to 29.1 degrees, ie, even 6 degrees more than the previous record.

The threat of climate change to Lithuania is due to the destructive impact on ecosystems, water quality, human health, agriculture, etc. Invasive species are spreading due to climate change, increasing incidence of certain diseases (such as asthma), increasing the number of extreme heat deaths, and increasing crops, which, in turn, adversely affect the food industry and the economy, and energy, communication, etc. infrastructure vulnerability threats. In order to prevent these threats, the actions needed is often taken late. However, it is necessary to realize that the less attention will be paid to mitigating climate change, the more you will have to invest in its future adaptation.

The text was prepared by the « Climate Reporters » (Klimatoreporteriai.lt).