Climate change impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016

Strengthening the knowledge base
and/or risk assessments (EEA, 2014). Agriculture,
water, forestry, human health and biodiversity are the
sectors most frequently considered in assessments.
Various countries report that an update of the national
assessments has begun. A wide variety of methods
were used, including qualitative and quantitative
methods. Although many climate change hazards are
similar, there are so far no agreed common methods
for impact and/or vulnerability indicator sets across
Europe.
7.2.2 Cryosphere
Snow and ice cover have been monitored since satellite
measurements started in the 1970s. Improvements
in technology have allowed for more detailed
observations and higher resolution. High-quality longterm
data are also available on glaciers throughout
Europe. Direct historical area-wide data on the
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are available for
about 20 years, but reconstructions give a 200 000-year
perspective.
7.2.3 Oceans, the marine environment and coasts
Changes related to the physical and chemical
marine environment are well documented, and
often time series of these observations are longer
than for biological changes. For example, systematic
observations of both sea level and sea surface
temperature began around 1880. In recent years, these
have been complemented by observations from space
and by Argo floats that at the same time automatically
measure temperature and salinity below the ocean
surface. The longest available time series of plankton
(about 60 years) is from the Continuous Plankton
Recorder..
The rate of ocean acidification and the biological
consequences of this on a global scale need to be
further monitored and researched. The understanding
of how climate change, in combination with synergistic
impacts from multiple stressors, can cause systemic
shifts is improving, but additional research is still
needed to untangle the complex interactions and
their effects upon biodiversity. Similarly, ecological
thresholds for individual species are still only
understood in hindsight, i.e. once a change has
occurred.
Reporting under relevant EU legislation and policies,
including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
(EC, 2008), has improved data availability and is expected
to further enhance the knowledge base in the future.
7.2.4 Water (water quality, floods, water scarcity and
droughts)
The main data sources for Europe-wide studies of the
impacts of river floods and river droughts are global
databases, in particular EM-DAT by CRED ( 137 ), which
focuses on the impacts on human health, and the
NatCatSERVICE by Munich RE ( 138 ), which focuses on
economic damage costs. These databases are compiled
from various sources. The differences in definitions,
thresholds, classification criteria and reporting
approaches are to be taken into account when
interpreting the data. Over recent years, these global
databases have been harmonised, but some important
differences remain.
Data on the impacts of floods since 1980, as reported
within the preliminary flood risk assessments by EU
Member States (that were due to be undertaken
by 2011 under the EU Floods Directive), have been
collected and published by the EEA (EEA, 2016a).
However, time series are not complete and are difficult
to compare across countries. The JRC ( 139 ) has reviewed
the status and best practices of disaster loss data
recording and prepared guidance for EU Member
States, in close collaboration with various Member
States. This is expected to help in improving the
comparability and consistency of data on the impacts
of floods.
Regarding water scarcity and droughts, the EEA is
revising the water exploitation index (EEA, 2016b) so
that it will be calculated based on the level of river
basins instead of on the administrative boundaries of
countries. The JRC maintains the European Drought
Observatory ( 140 ) for forecasting, assessment and
monitoring. However, despite such activities, there is
currently no systematic, comprehensive record of such
events in Europe describing their duration, impact
and severity, other than meteorological time series for
precipitation.
Data and research projects are available regarding
water temperature and the impacts of climate change
on freshwater ecosystems and water quality.
( 137 ) http://www.emdat.be.
( 138 ) http://www.munichre.com/en/reinsurance/business/non-life/natcatservice/index.html.
( 139 ) http://drr.jrc.ec.europa.eu.
( 140 ) http://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu.
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