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EU report: 2021 was fifth-hottest year on record

People cool off in hot and humid weather at the mist garden near the World's Fair Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City on August 26. A European Union report on Monday said the past seven years have been the hottest in history. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
People cool off in hot and humid weather at the mist garden near the World's Fair Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City on August 26. A European Union report on Monday said the past seven years have been the hottest in history. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The European Union's climate agency said Monday that 2021 was the fifth-hottest year on record and that the past seven years together have been the warmest ever.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service, an arm of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said 2021 was slightly warmer than 2015 and 2018 with its average temperature 0.3 degrees Celsius above the temperature of the 1991-2020 reference point and 1.1-1.2 C above the pre-industrial level of 1850­-1900.

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"Only with determined efforts backed up by observational evidence can we make a real difference in our fight against climate catastrophe," said Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, according to Politico.

Europe's temperature was 0.1 degrees Celsius over the 1991-2020 average last year but was still its highest temperature on record.

"July saw a very heavy rainfall event in western-central Europe, leading to severe floods in several countries, while the Mediterranean region experienced a heatwave during July and part of August," the report said.

Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands suffered severe flooding events while high temperatures affected Greece, Spain and Italy.

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