The heat wave affecting western Europe serves as a reminder of what global warming has in store for the old continent, at a time when climate change is increasingly fading from public discourse.
According to meteorologists, the temperatures in the coming days will break records for June in several countries. The thermometer in France will reach 43 degrees Celsius, in Spain it will reach 45 degrees Celsius, in Belgium 37 degrees Celsius, while in parts of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy, temperatures may reach degrees Celsius.
Belgium’s chief meteorologist warned that the country could experience the “hottest week ever recorded.”
But the nights will also be extremely hot, as in several regions of Western Europe the temperature will not drop below 25 degrees Celsius. The lack of a break intensifies heat stress, as heat builds up in the body, leading to illness and death among vulnerable population groups and the elderly. Over the past four years, 200,000 people have died across Europe from heat-related causes.
These are the three reasons, according to Politico, why you’re sweating at home and at work:
- Fossil fuels
In fact, there have always been heat waves in the summers of the northern hemisphere. But global temperatures have risen by 1.4° Celsius since humans began burning fossil fuels to power factories, cars, and buildings, releasing greenhouse gases.
Scientists agree that every heat wave today is more intense due to climate change. Climate change may not have caused the “heat dome” that has blanketed Western Europe, “it raises the base temperature at which weather systems operate,” emphasized Mireia Ginesta of the University of Oxford, but. “In a cooler climate, this heatwave would be less intense,” she added.
Europe is the continent that is warming faster than any other, due to its proximity to the Arctic and changes in regional weather patterns. As global temperatures rise, heat waves are getting worse: Scientists estimate that if temperatures rise by 3 degrees relative to pre-industrial levels, heat-related deaths in Europe will double or triple compared to a 1.5-degree increase.
- Poor infrastructure
The outdoor temperature is just one part of the problem. Europeans spend about 90% of their time indoors — in homes, stores, trains, schools, and workplaces.
In much of Europe, especially in northern regions, buildings are designed to keep heat inside rather than let it escape. Even today, many new homes are built to withstand the winter rather than the increasingly hot summers. In the United Kingdom, 92% of homes are likely to be overheated by 2050, according to the Committee on Climate Change.
The use of AC has become more widespread, but only one in five homes has AC. Even if they are equipped with AC, they may not be able to use it due to the cost of electricity. Schools, offices, and public transportation often lack adequate cooling. In France, the heat led to the closure of more than 800 schools this week. In Belgium, 20% of trains have no air conditioning at all, resulting in service cancellations during peak hours.
- Out-of-touch politicians
Governments can take many measures to reduce of carbon emissions, to protect citizens, infrastructure, and economies from extreme weather events. However, as heat waves intensify, climate change is slipping down the political priority list of the EU.
Although the EU has set ambitious goals for reducing emissions, governments are now placing greater emphasis on economic recovery and have scaled back policies considered obstacles to growth. In fact, emissions in the EU rose slightly last year.
In the United Kingdom, bipartisan consensus on climate change has weakened, while pressure is mounting for more fossil fuel extraction in the North Sea. At the same time, plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change are significantly lagging behind.
In both the EU and the United Kingdom, plans to address the inevitable consequences of climate change — such as heat waves — lag significantly behind efforts to drastically reduce emissions.
The European Environment Agency criticizes the EU for failing to protect its citizens from extreme temperatures, noting that there is a significant risk of heat stress for the general population in the current decade.
