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Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Climate
- Gulf Today
Heat wave in Europe kills 1,500 people in 10 days
Europe is reeling under an unprecedented heatwave, and it has touched extremely high temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and 46 degrees Celsius in late June and early July. And it has caused an alarming death toll of 1,500 people, many of them aged above 65. Europe is not used to these high summer temperatures and it has not experienced this kind of extreme heat at the very beginning of summer. Summer peaked in Europe in late July and August. Meteorologists are explaining the extreme heat event to the formation of a heat dome over places experiencing peak temperatures in Spain and Portugal because of high pressure. They say the high pressure captures heat near the surface and it does not allow convex clouds to form and lead to rainfall. Europe has been bearing extreme summer temperatures for many years now, though the years of peak temperatures have been in 2003, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. According to researchers at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, of the 2,300 heat-related deaths, 1,500 were due to climate change. Says Imperial College researcher Ben Clarke, 'Climate change has made it significantly hotter than it would have been, which in turn makes it a lot more dangerous.' The danger aspect of the heatwave is reflected in the death toll in many cities in 12 countries. A study by the two London institutions showed that 317 deaths in Milan were due to climate change, and 182 were not related to climate change, and the numbers for other cities show a similar pattern. In Paris, 235 deaths were due to climate change and 138 due to other reasons, in Barcelona 286 deaths were due to climate change compared to 54 for other reasons. In Rome, 162 deaths were due to climate change, and 118 for other reasons, and in London it is 171 deaths due to climate change and 92 due to other reasons. These deaths occurred in a short period of 10 days ending on July 2. The impact of high summer temperatures has a drastic impact in Europe because the temperate climate in the European countries had never experienced these heat extremities. People are not used to the heat as much as they are to the cold waves. It is a fact that the Europeans have been at the forefront of the climate change battle, they have raised the alarm much before the others, and they have been trying to adopt green technologies and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. But it becomes clear that Europe cannot protect itself from the consequences of climate by taking care of itself. Climate change is a global phenomenon. Europeans cannot hope to check the rise in temperatures and reduce CO2 emissions on their own. All other countries have to be part of the process. European climate negotiators have been playing tough in climate talks, especially with regard to giving financial assistance to developing and least developed countries so that they can buy the green technologies needed to cope with the challenge of climate change. The developed countries of Europe are refusing to share the financial burden of adopting the technologies needed to curb CO2 emissions and control pollution and rising temperatures. The unfortunate death toll of people in Europe unable to bear the extreme heat is a tragic reminder to the political leaders that they have to share the global burden of fighting climate change. Europe cannot hope to save itself from the disasters of climate change by trying to protect itself alone. It is very clear that Europe cannot remain immune to the depredations of climate change.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
‘Silent killers': Climate change made European heatwaves deadlier; temperatures up by 4°C
Climate change made European heatwaves deadlier; temperatures up by 4°C Human-induced climate change made the recent heatwaves across Europe significantly more intense, with temperatures in many cities up to 4°C higher than they would have been without global warming, according to a recent study. Researchers from five European institutions studied 12 cities, including major capitals such as Paris, London and Madrid, which have a combined population of over 30 million. They concluded that additional heat likely led to a higher number of heat-related deaths than would have occurred in a cooler climate, scientists said on Wednesday, reported AFP. The findings raise fresh concerns about the increasing risks to public health, particularly for vulnerable groups. Heatwaves spanned from late June to early July, saw temperatures soar past 40°C in several European countries, setting new records and triggering health warnings. According to the EU's climate monitor Copernicus, June was the hottest on record in western Europe. The extreme heat forced the closure of schools and tourist attractions in many areas. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dukung Orang Terkasih Menghadapi Limfoma: Mulai Di Sini Limfoma Klik Di Sini Undo Analysis of historical weather data revealed that, in all but one of the 12 cities studied, the temperatures would have been 2–4°C cooler without the influence of human-caused climate change. 'What that does is it brings certain groups of people into more dangerous territory,' said Ben Clarke, a researcher from Imperial College London, which co-led the study along with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 'For some people, it's still warm, fine weather. But for now a huge sector of the population, it's more dangerous,' he added. For the first time, the study also attempted to estimate the number of deaths attributable to the heatwave and the role climate change played. 'An increase in heatwave temperature of just two or four degrees can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people,' said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London. 'This is why heatwaves are known as silent killers. Most heat-related deaths occur in homes and hospitals out of public view and are rarely reported,' he added. The researchers were based in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, emphasised that their estimate was only a partial snapshot of the overall impact, as official figures are not yet available. Heatwaves pose the greatest danger to the elderly, children, the sick, outdoor workers and those without access to cooling or shade. Urban areas face heightened risks due to the heat island effect, where buildings and paved surfaces absorb and retain more heat than surrounding areas.
Qatar Tribune
09-07-2025
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
European heatwave caused 2,300 deaths in 10 days: Study
Some 2,300 people are likely to have died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during a severe heatwave that ended last week, with two-thirds of the deaths directly linked to climate change, according to a new study. The analysis, published on Wednesday, focused on the 10-day period between June 23 and July 2, during which large parts of Western Europe were hit by extreme heat, with temperatures breaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Spain and wildfires breaking out in France. It covered 12 cities with a combined population of more than 30 million, including Barcelona, Madrid, London and Milan, where the study said climate change had increased heatwave temperatures by up to 4C (39.2F). Of the 2,300 people estimated to have died during this period, 1,500 deaths were linked to climate change, which made the heatwave more severe, said the study conducted by more than a dozen researchers from five European institutions in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland. 'Climate change has made it significantly hotter than it would have been, which in turn makes it a lot more dangerous,' said Ben Clarke, a researcher at Imperial College London, one of the institutions involved in the study. The researchers used established epidemiological models and historical mortality data to estimate the death toll, which reflects deaths where heat was the underlying reason for mortality, including whether exposure exacerbated existing health conditions. To assess what role climate change played, scientists compared how intense a heatwave would have been in a world that had not warmed due to burning masses of fossil fuels. They concluded the heatwave 'would have been 2-4C (35.6-39.2F) cooler' without human-induced climate change in all but one of the 12 cities studied, noting that the added degrees greatly elevated the risk in these cities. 'What that does [the increased temperatures] is it brings certain groups of people into more dangerous territory,' said Clarke. 'For some people, it's still warm, fine weather. But for now, a huge sector of the population, it's more dangerous,' he told reporters. Heatwaves are particularly dangerous for the elderly, the sick, young children, outdoor workers and anyone exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods without relief. The effect on health is compounded in cities, where heat is absorbed by paved surfaces and buildings, making urban areas much hotter than their surroundings. The scientists said they used peer-reviewed methods to quickly produce the estimated death toll, because most heat-related deaths are not officially reported and some governments do not release this data. A more definitive death toll from the recent heatwave could take weeks to produce. 'An increase in heatwave temperature of just two or four degrees can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people,' said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London. 'This is why heatwaves are known as silent killers. Most heat-related deaths occur in homes and hospitals out of public view and are rarely reported,' he told reporters.
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Man-made climate change made European heat wave much more deadly
July 9 (UPI) -- Heat-related deaths in Europe's latest heat wave that ended last week were three times higher than they would have been without the warming of the planet caused by man-made climate change, British scientists said Wednesday. Climate-warming caused by burning fossil fuels, including oil, gas and coal, made the heatwave much hotter, boosting heat deaths from about 800 to an estimated 2,300 across 12 European cities, according to a new research study published by Imperial College London's Grantham Institute. "Rapid analysis" of the period June 23 through July 2 using existing peer-reviewed methods found climate change nearly tripled the number of heat-related deaths, with fossil fuel burning driving additional temperature rise of up to 4 degrees Celsius. During 10 days of heat peaking on July 1, Milan saw the most excess deaths due to climate change at 317, followed by Barcelona with 286, Paris, 235, London, 171, and Rome, 164. Sassari on the island of Sardinia, had just six excess deaths due to climate change-induced heat, notwithstanding that it has a population around 1/70th the size of London. The elderly were disproportionately affected, with people older than 65 accounting for 88% of the deaths due to climate change, which the study said underscored the scale of the risk of premature death in heatwaves for people with underlying health conditions and for Europe with its aging population. However, the scientists at Imperial and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine warned that the figures meant the likely death toll far exceeded other recent weather disasters, including floods in Valencia in summer 2024 and floods in northwestern Europe in 2021. "This study demonstrates why heat waves are known as silent killers," said Malcolm Mistry, co-author of the study and an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told The Guardian. Imperial College climate scientist Ben Clarke said the dangers of heat waves were not widely recognized, as the deaths they caused did not grab the headlines like other disasters. "Heat waves don't leave a trail of destruction like wildfires or storms. Their impacts are mostly invisible but quietly devastating. A change of just 2 or 3 degrees Celsius can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people." Imperial College climate specialist Garyfallos Konstantinoudis said the actual number of climate change heat-related deaths for all of Europe may well be in the tens of thousands as the study was only a snapshot, not the full picture. The study warns that heat waves would continue to get hotter and predicts the number of people dying would continue to rise unless the world stops burning fossil fuels and achieves net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Separate data from the Spanish government pinpointed at least 450 extreme heat-related deaths between June 21 and July 2, up more than 70% from 2022, when 40 degrees Celsius plus temperatures killed record numbers of people. The European Union's Climate Change Service said the global temperature in June was the highest ever recorded. It said an "exceptional" marine heatwave in the western Mediterranean pushed the daily sea surface temperature to a record 27 degrees Celsius. Heat-related deaths are forecast to be 10 times higher when global temperature rises hits 1.5 degrees Celsius and 30 times higher at 3 degrees Celsius, the European Environment Agency warned last month. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Observer
09-07-2025
- Health
- Observer
Climate change made European heatwave up to 4C hotter: study
Paris - Human-caused climate change made recent European heatwaves up to 4C hotter in many cities, scientists said on Wednesday, pushing temperatures into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people. This likely led to far more heat-related deaths than would have occurred without the influence of global warming, concluded a rapid study of the episode by over a dozen researchers from five European institutions. Temperatures between late June and early July soared well above 40 degrees Celsius (104F) in many European countries as the first heatwave of the summer broke records and triggered health warnings. The EU's climate monitor Copernicus on Wednesday said it was the hottest June on record in western Europe, where some schools and tourist sites were shuttered as the mercury soared. To assess what role climate change played, scientists compared how intense a heatwave would have been in a world that had not warmed due to burning masses of fossil fuels. Using historical weather data, they concluded the heatwave "would have been 2-4C cooler" without human-induced climate change in all but one of the 12 cities studied. The added degrees greatly elevated the risk in these cities, which have a combined population of more than 30 million and include major capitals Paris, London, and Madrid. "What that does is it brings certain groups of people into more dangerous territory," said researcher Ben Clarke from Imperial College London, which co-led the study with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "For some people, it's still warm, fine weather. But for now a huge sector of the population, it's more dangerous," he told reporters. - Life and death - The study, for the first time, also sought to estimate the death toll from the heatwave in the 12 cities studied, and how many could be attributed to climate change. Based on peer-reviewed scientific methods and established research on heat and mortality, the study concluded the heatwave likely caused about 2,300 deaths between June 23 and July 2 across the 12 cities studied. But about 1,500, or roughly two-thirds, of all these deaths would not have occurred had climate change not pushed temperatures to such dangerous highs, researchers said. The authors -- from research institutions in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland -- stressed this estimate was just a snapshot of the wider heatwave, as no official count was yet available. Heatwaves are particularly dangerous for the elderly, the sick, young children, outdoor workers, and anyone exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods without relief. The effect on health is compounded in cities, where heat is absorbed by paved surfaces and buildings, resulting in urban areas being significantly hotter than their surroundings. Copernicus said large parts of southern Europe experienced so-called "tropical nights" during the heatwave when overnight temperatures don't fall low enough to let the body recover. "An increase in heatwave temperature of just two or four degrees can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people," said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London. "This is why heatwaves are known as silent killers. Most heat-related deaths occur in homes and hospitals out of public view and are rarely reported," he told reporters. Authorities say it could take weeks to tally a more definitive death toll from the recent heatwave, but similar episodes have claimed tens of thousands of lives in Europe during previous summers.
