Heatwaves are Europe’s biggest climate threat. These episodes of extreme heat compound rising average air temperatures across the world, all of which is the direct result of greenhouse gas emissions.
There have always been heatwaves – in Europe and throughout most of the planet – but in the 21st century they have become more frequent and intense, and last longer. Whatever definition of “heatwave” we use, the risk of one occurring has at least doubled compared to the 20th century.
Year after year of broken temperature records across Europe clearly show that they are becoming more severe. Highs of 40°C are no longer reserved solely for the Mediterranean – they now reach Paris, southern England and northern Germany, among other areas.
France’s heat record of 46C was recorded in Vérargues, near Montpellier, during the 2019 heatwave. In the UK, the town of Coningsby in Lincolnshire reached 40C during the 2022 heatwave, and the northern German city of Hamburg hit 40.1°C around the same time. The overall European record is held by Siracusa, in Sicily: 48.8°C on August 11, 2021. Spain’s record of 47.6°C, in La Rambla, Córdoba on 14 August, 2021, is not far behind.
These records have one thing in common: they are all from the 21st century, and are all measured against long-term data that in some cases spans over a century.
NOAA, CC BY-SA
In the 21st century, heatwaves have also become longer, meaning more days spent over the excessive heat threshold, and they arrive earlier in the year than they did in the previous century.
This year has shown that even May can now bring considerable heat. June heatwaves are no longer rare, as we have seen in both June 2019 and this year, with the most recent being marked by high temperatures persisting well into the night.
Earlier summers, and with them the risk of heatwaves, are playing havoc with school calendars. In Spain in particular, during the final month of the school year – from late May to late June – the temperature in classrooms often exceeds the limits for learning and study. Longer summers mean the same problem presents itself in September too.
The impacts of climate change are therefore not just confined to obvious areas such as farming – they affect almost all aspects of human activity.
Read more:
How the heat affects children as they learn, play and do sport – and how parents can help
Impacts on wellbeing
Heatwaves have a major impact on European economies and lives, including increased morbidity and mortality. The 2003 heatwave, for instance, caused around 70,000 deaths. The hardest hit countries were Italy with around 20,000, France with 15,000, Spain with 12,000, and Germany with over 9,000.
In 2003, inhabitants of northern France and other central and northern European countries were exposed to previously unthinkable levels of heat. The region was ill-equipped to handle these temperatures. Few homes, public spaces and services – including hospitals – have air conditioning, and found themselves defenceless against such a sudden rise in temperatures.
The 2003 heatwave caught the inhabitants and authorities of these countries unawares. They were minimally prepared to face a temperatures that were practically unprecedented in northern Europe, and ended up being fiercer than even southern Europe is used to.
Image courtesy of Reto Stockli and Robert Simmon, based on data provided by the MODIS Earth Sciences team
While high temperatures often grab the headlines, elevated lows can also be bad for human health, as they prevent us from getting restorative sleep at night. Elderly people are the most vulnerable, especially if they suffer from chronic illnesses.
Elderly people are also more likely to suffer from energy poverty and thus not have air conditioning, which makes the situation worse. Under these conditions, they can become weaker, which means more hospital visits and increased mortality levels.
There are growing calls for the World Health Organisation to declare the climate crisis a public health emergency.
Read more:
Heat, humidity and housing: why British heatwaves hit differently
Europe’s heatwave future
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent. This means that heatwaves will become a regular feature of every summer. The continent therefore needs to prioritise adaptation to high temperatures – especially central and northern European countries, which are less accustomed to the heat than those in the south. And there are concrete solutions available.
All hospitals – excluding those at the highest latitudes – will need cooling systems. Cities need to create networks of climate refuges, and Mediterranean cities need to build new green spaces – parks, gardens, green corridors and so on.
Roofs and rooftop terraces must also be cooled, either through greenery or reflective materials, to reduce heat absorption during the day – the “white towns” of southern Spain are a good example of traditional architecture that does just this.
The busiest city streets must be shaded by awnings on summer days, and pavements should be permeable so that water – be it from rain or watering runoff – soaks in and then cools through evaporation.
Only by enacting these measures – any many, many others like them – can Europe hope to meaningfully adapt to ever more frequent, intense heatwaves.
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