How are you being affected by the heatwave in southern Europe?
A range of health and environmental alerts have been issued across Europe, particularly its southern part, as large parts of the continent continue to be gripped by a heatwave – with temperatures in mid to high 30s and low 40s Celsius.
Extreme heat can pose serious health risks, especially for babies, children, pregnant women and elderly people.
We'd like to know what it's like where you live. How are you coping and what steps are you taking to deal with high temperatures? What is your home and working environment like? How does it compare with previous summers? What are your plans for the coming months and what are your concerns?
You can tell us how you are being affected by the heatwave by filling in the form below, or messaging us.
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A leafy capital known for scorching summers faces 'mass abandonment' over new deadly flooding threat
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The Independent
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- The Independent
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Daily Mail
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Professor John Marsham, an atmospheric scientist from the University of Leeds, told MailOnline: 'Climate change has already made UK summers warmer, and heatwaves more likely and more intense. 'Heatwaves will continue to get worse until we essentially phase out fossil fuels and reach net-zero.' Our buildings, transport and farming are simply not set up for the extremes we increasingly experience.' The inevitable consequence of these increasingly hot summers is that more people will die every year. Extreme temperatures place significant stress on our bodies, as our respiratory system fights to reduce the core body temperature. This places a strain on the heart, kidneys, and digestive organs, which can lead to serious complications over time. ENGLAND: Sunbathers flocked to the packed beach at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis on Monday These conditions increase the risk of heart and organ failure, especially among children, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions. 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Unlike floods or storms, their impact can be invisible: people who die during extreme heat usually have pre-existing health conditions, and heat is rarely recorded as a contributing cause of death, says Dr Konstantinoudis. What is clear is that if temperatures in Europe continue to rise on current trends, the number of people killed will increase. SPAIN: Emergency medical staff in Spain readied to deal with an unexpected surge in heatstroke cases. Pictured: Medical dispatchers wait for calls to Madrid's SUMMA emergency medical services number at the main emergency call centre for the whole Madrid region, in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid, on June 26 SPAIN: Tourists cool off under a cloud of mist at the Plaza de la Reina during a heat wave in Valencia on Sunday DORSET: Brightly coloured parasols were a mainstay on beaches across the UK today as sunworshippers looked for some time in the shade on Monday TYNEMOUTH: People attempted to cool off in the North Sea at King Edwards Bay on Monday A recent report by the UK Climate Change Commission has estimated that heat-related deaths could rise to over 10,000 in an average year by 2050 if ongoing fossil fuel burning causes warming to reach 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Likewise, in a 3°C warming scenario, forecasts by the EU Joint Research Centre show heat-related mortality in Europe could triple with respect to today. Professor Hugh Montgomery, a professor of Intensive Care Medicine at University College London, says: 'These impacts will worsen as heatwaves do. 'As a doctor working with the critically ill, I know that delaying action when severe symptoms appear can be fatal. We must likewise take action on Climate Change now, not just treating those symptoms, but their cause.' Europe is currently experiencing an extreme heatwave amidst what is already anticipated to be one of the hottest Junes on record. Temperatures in Spain could rise to a hellish high of 47°C (116°F) while the UK faces 36°C (96.8°F) highs and a 'rise in deaths' this weekend. The current extreme weather in Europe is caused by a 'heat dome' which has created stable, cloud-free conditions which allow heat to build up. Although heat domes are natural events, it is an undeniable fact that human-caused climate change has made this spell of hot weather even warmer. Modelling shows that the four days of heatwave between June 19 and 22 killed an estimated 570 people in England and Wales alone Dr Michael Byrne, a climate scientist at the University of St Andrews, told MailOnline: 'Heat domes are nothing new – they have always occurred and will continue to do so. 'What is new is that when a heat dome strikes, temperatures get higher because Europe is more than 2°Cs warmer than in pre-industrial times. 'So climate change is not necessarily driving more heat domes, but when they happen, they lead to more intense heatwaves.' There has not yet been what scientists call an 'attribution study', a piece of research to work out how much of the excess heat is caused by human activity, for the coming weekend's weather. This will have to come in the days and weeks following the event once scientists have more data to work with. However, the evidence is already extremely clear that this extreme event has been made worse by climate change. Dr Friederike Otto, a leading climate scientist from Imperial College London and founder of World Weather Attribution, says: 'We absolutely do not need to do an attribution study to know that this heatwave is hotter than it would have been without our continued burning of oil, coal and gas. 'Countless studies have shown that climate change is an absolute game-changer when it comes to heat in Europe, making heatwaves much more frequent, especially the hottest ones, and more intense.' THE PARIS AGREEMENT: A GLOBAL ACCORD TO LIMIT TEMPERATURE RISES THROUGH CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change. It hopes to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2°C (3.6°F) 'and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F)'. It seems the more ambitious goal of restricting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) may be more important than ever, according to previous research which claims 25 per cent of the world could see a significant increase in drier conditions. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has four main goals with regards to reducing emissions: 1) A long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels 2) To aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change 3) Governments agreed on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries
