European Heatwave: Scientists Confirm Worst Ever and Attribute to Climate Crisis

The Unprecedented Severity of the European Heatwave

The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever recorded, and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said. Almost half of Europe's 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity.

The Impact on Cities and Health

The analysis comes as the UK recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Thursday, 36.4C (97.5F) in Somerset, and much of western Europe recorded a sharp rise in medical emergencies, including some deaths. In summer 2022, more than 60,000 people died due to heat in Europe.

The Role of Climate Change

The new analysis by scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium shows how rapidly extreme heat is worsening as carbon pollution continues to pile up in the atmosphere. As recently as 2003, a heatwave like the current one in Europe would have been 2C cooler due to the lower level of global heating at the time. In 1976, another famous heatwave year, it would have been 3.5C cooler.

The Future Outlook

The scientists warned that without urgent climate action, future heat conditions would get even more extreme and the current summer could seem relatively cool in retrospect. They used wet bulb globe temperatures to assess the additional impact of high humidity. The sweltering night-time temperatures currently harming people's sleep are about 100 times more likely today than in 2003.

The Call for Action

Commenting on the WWA analysis, Simon Stiell, the UN's climate chief, said: 'Climate change is running rampant, caused by the world's addiction to burning coal, oil and gas. But the solutions are equally clear: a faster shift to clean energy – which is now much cheaper than fossil fuels – as well as protecting forests and building climate resilience.'