Europe saw record number of ‘extreme heat stress’ days, report warns

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In the last two decades in Europe, extreme heat-related mortality has increased by around 30%, according to a joint report by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) published on Tuesday (22 April).

As climate change accelerates, its effects on human health are also increasing. “The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our generation. The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of inaction is much higher,” Celeste Saulo, WMO’s secretary-general, said in the report.

Data from Copernicus and the WMO show that in 2023, Europe experienced a record number of days when the heat felt was “extreme” for human bodies, due to temperatures above 35°C or 40°C.

Across Europe, temperatures were above average for 11 months of the year, including the warmest September on record, the report found out. Consequently, 2023 saw a record number of days with “extreme heat stress”.

Heat waves impact human health. They compromise the body’s ability to regulate temperature and can provoke heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Last summer, “at the peak of a heatwave in July, 41% of southern Europe was affected by at least ‘strong heat stress’, with potential for health impacts”, Copernicus’ report found.

Overall, in the last two decades in Europe, heat-related mortality has increased by around 30%.

Besides heat waves impacting European citizens’ health, in 2023, 63 people died because of storms, 44 because of floods and 44 due to wildfires, according to the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT), which estimated that flooding in 2023 affected an estimated 1.6 million people in Europe.

“In 2023, Europe witnessed the largest wildfire ever recorded, one of the wettest years, severe marine heatwaves and widespread devastating flooding. Temperatures continue to increase, making our data ever more vital in preparing for the impacts of climate change”, Carlo Buontempo, C3S director, commented in the report.

In 2023, weather- and climate change-related economic losses were estimated at more than €13.4 billion.

Vaccine-preventable disease is on the rise in Europe

During the COVID-19 confinement, many contagious pathogens were also suppressed; with society opening combined with vaccine hesitancy, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and whooping cough (pertussis) are on the rise.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]