On August 24, 2023, as a heat wave swept through France, a homeless man begged for money on the streets of Bordeaux in southwestern France.
Christopher Archambault | AFP | Getty Images
Europe is facing increasingly severe heat that the human body cannot cope with as climate change continues to raise temperatures, the European Union’s Copernicus climate monitoring service and the World Meteorological Organization said on Monday.
In a report on Europe’s climate, Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization noted last year’s extreme conditions, including a July heatwave that plunged 41% of southern Europe into intense, very intense or extreme heat stress – This is the largest area in Europe to ever experience such conditions.
Extreme heat poses particular health risks to outdoor workers, the elderly, and people with medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Death tolls were 7% higher than normal in parts of Italy last July, with victims including a 44-year-old man who collapsed and died while painting road markings in the northern town of Lodi.
Heat stress measures the impact of the environment on the human body, combining factors such as temperature, humidity and body response to establish a “feeling” temperature.
In 2023, parts of Spain, France, Italy and Greece experienced ten days of extreme heat stress, defined as “feeling” temperatures above 46 degrees Celsius, when immediate action must be taken to avoid heatstroke and other illnesses. .
The report said that the number of deaths caused by heat in Europe has increased by about 30% in the past 20 years.
The EU’s environment agency last month urged governments to prepare health care systems for climate change and called on the bloc to develop rules to protect outdoor workers from extreme heat.
Last year was the hottest year on record globally. Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world.
Greenhouse gas emissions were the biggest cause of unusually high temperatures last year, the report said. Factors including El Niño weather patterns also play a role.
High temperatures contribute to extreme weather, including flooding, because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which when released can cause heavier downpours.
Last year’s floods in Slovenia affected 1.5 million people. Greece has suffered the largest wildfire in the history of the European Union, covering an area of 960 square kilometers, twice the area of Athens. Between 2022 and 2023, the remaining volume of alpine glaciers decreased by 10%.
“Some of the events that occurred in 2023 surprised the scientific community because of their intensity, speed, scope and duration,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
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