The polar regions and Europe were hit hardest by global warming in 2022, according to a new analysis. The data from Copernicus, the EU’s climate monitoring service, says 2022 was the fifth warmest year globally. Europe experienced its warmest summer, with temperatures increasing by more than twice the global average over the past three decades, faster than any other continent. The last eight years are now also the warmest eight yet recorded. Last year saw a continuation of a pattern of global warming that has become the new normal, say Copernicus scientists. While the La Niña weather event helped to cool the oceans for the third year in a row, global temperatures were still approximately 0.3C higher in 2022 than the 1991-2020 reference period. Researchers say this means that last year was close to 1.2C above the 1850-1900 period, taken as the start of global industrialisation. Europe and the polar regions were at the sharp end of this high heat. Temperature records in many western European countries were broken including the UK, with summer heatwaves and intense droughts hitting many parts.(BBC)…[+]