Hotter, drier & sunnier - What's happening to the European climate?

The 2022 annual climate data has just been released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The figures confirm that last year, Europe went through its hottest summer on record.

2022 was marked by extreme heat and widespread drought. Drought Indicator maps from April, July and September illustrate how widespread the issue was.

Are we going to have a repeat of that situation this year? Climate scientist Julien Nicolas believes it's possible:

"We are seeing this taking place as we speak in Spain," he says. "Where you have extreme temperatures, combined with very dry conditions that led to well above average temperatures. So this is one example where the scenario from 2022 is repeating."

2022 saw a marked rise in the number of days with what's called 'strong heat stress'. The darker the colour is on this map, the more days of heat stress there were.

In 2022 many parts of Europe experienced 40 days a year or more with temperatures with a 'feels like' rating of 32° to 38°. And it's becoming a concern for doctors.

"It can trigger heart attacks, strokes. It can lead to dehydration, to renal failure," says Nathalie Nidens, medical doctor at the German Alliance On Climate Change And Health.

She says people who are vulnerable should look for advice on how to adapt: "It's also possible that certain medications and food restrictions need to be adjusted because some medications can actually make you more vulnerable to heat and therefore also pose a greater risk. So sometimes dosages need to be adjusted."

Alongside heat and drought, another key trend from 2022 is that Europe is getting sunnier.

Last year, the continent had its highest sunshine duration on record - the places in red and fuschia on this map had hundreds of hours of extra