European temperatures continue to rise

The new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) recommends that Europe is facing the most severe weather changes in the last 5,000 years.

Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain

The average temperature of Europe is increasing much faster than the global average temperature.

The last three years have been the hottest three years in history. Only in the last century of Europe has increased nearly 1 degree C. This number seems small but it is 35% higher than the global average temperature and start to cause alarming consequences.

Ice sheets are melting in the north, in the south the drought is making the desert widen. In the summer of 2003 alone, about 10% of ice in the Alps had melted.

Europeans are consuming natural resources twice as much as the world average. Jacqueline McGale, director of the European Environment Department, said: "By the end of this century we will witness the departure of most glaciers in the Alps." "And more importantly, we lose a valuable source of pure water in the heart of Europe."

Many Europeans live longer and live alone, so the demands on the environment increase. But that is becoming more and more difficult.