Europe is warming faster than any other continent, according to the European State of the Climate 2025 (ESOTC) report, whose findings also show a continued rapid warming trend in the coldest regions.
The report, published jointly by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), signals a shift in future threats to insured assets from climate change to current realities.
For the insurance and reinsurance industry, the report’s data on several escalating environmental trends provide warnings for risk assessment as well as pricing and catastrophe risk modeling.
Florian Papenberg, Director General of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said: “Europe is the fastest-warming continent and the impacts are already severe. The 2025 report provides clear, actionable insights to support policy decisions and help the public better understand the changing climate we live in.”
The report said that by 2025, at least 95% of Europe will have annual temperatures above average, while the areas of Europe with freezing winter temperatures are shrinking.
A record three-week heatwave has affected subarctic Fennoscandia, with temperatures near and within the Arctic Circle exceeding 30°C.
Glaciers in all regions of Europe have experienced net mass loss, with Iceland recording the second-largest loss on record; snow cover is 31% below average; and the Greenland ice sheet lost 139 gigatons (139 billion tons) of ice in 2025 alone.
While storms and floods affected thousands of people across Europe, the extreme rainfall and resulting flooding were less widespread than in previous years.
The report states that for every centimeter of sea level rise, an additional 6 million people will be exposed to coastal flooding, indicating that property claims in coastal areas are likely to increase significantly.
2025 is also a big year for wildfires caused by hot, dry conditions. The wildfire burned approximately 1,034,550 hectares, the largest area on record.
While Spain accounts for half of emissions, wildfire emissions are also at record highs in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.
In 2025, Europe experienced one of the driest years for soil moisture since 1992, with drought affecting 53% of the continent. This severe water shortage creates major problems for agriculture and inland shipping.
Most rivers in Europe are affected, with 70% having below-average annual flows and overall river flows remaining low for 11 months of the year.
The report also shows that at least 95% of European regions have above-average annual temperatures. There were 50 more days than average with “feeling” temperatures above 32°C in southern and eastern Spain.
The findings show that annual sea surface temperatures in Europe have reached their highest levels on record, with 86% of the region experiencing at least “intense” marine heat waves.
The report also addresses the clean energy transition and biodiversity loss. In 2025, renewable energy will supply nearly half of Europe’s electricity (46.4%), with the contribution of solar power reaching a new record of 12.5%.
However, these infrastructures remain highly vulnerable to the extreme weather events described in the report.
Finally, regarding biodiversity, the report emphasizes that biodiversity is crucial for a sustainable future, but climate change is the main cause of its degradation. Climate change and biodiversity are closely linked within European policies and frameworks, which is relevant for reinsurers.
Samantha Burgess, head of climate strategy at ECMWF, said: “ESOTC 2025 paints a grim picture: the pace of climate change requires more urgent action. As temperatures rise, wildfires and droughts spread, the evidence is clear; climate change is not a future threat, it is our current reality. We need to match the pace of adaptation in the clean energy transition while addressing the impacts of biodiversity loss, while ensuring that strong science continues to underpin our policies and decisions.”
