France, April 15 -- Europe faced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, as fossil fuel-driven climate change continued toprompttorrential rain and other extreme weather, the European State of the Climate report has found.

At least 335 people died and over 410,000 were impacted by floods in Europe in 2024, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a joint reportpublished Tuesday.

Western Europe was hit hardest, with 2024 ranking among the region's ten wettest years in records going back to 1950. Storms and flooding are Europe's costliest weatherextremes, with damage caused last year exceeding 18 billion euros.

Nearly a third of Europe's overall river ...