Burning point: Climate change and escalating heatwaves
A woman fans herself in Barcelona, Spain last month. Picture: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Europe is sweltering. Summer has just begun and we’re already seeing record-breaking heatwaves sweep across the continent. Temperatures have surged past 44°C in parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. Portugal and Spain recorded their hottest June ever.
What’s causing this escalation in extreme heat? The short answer is human-induced climate change. But the full picture reveals how human-driven warming, shifting atmospheric patterns, and parched landscapes are combining to produce longer, hotter, and more dangerous heatwaves than Europe has ever seen.
The Earth has already warmed by around 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, but Europe is heating up faster than the global average. According to the European Environment Agency, Europe’s temperature has increased by around 2.2°C, making it the fastest-warming continent on the planet.
This increase is not just an abstract statistic. It dramatically raises the odds of extreme heat. Every heatwave we experience today has been made more intense by climate change. It’s not a future problem, but a present-day reality. When natural heatwaves occur, they now start from a warmer baseline, meaning they’re hotter, last longer, and occur more frequently than they did just a few decades ago.
The atmosphere is a key player in Europe’s heatwaves. A high-pressure system, often called an omega block for its Ω-shaped jet stream pattern, traps hot air under a heat dome, blocking cooler, wetter weather for weeks. The current heatwave scorching southern Europe appears to be driven by such a system. The jet stream, a fast-moving ribbon of air in the atmosphere, normally pushes weather along. But one hypothesis suggests that Arctic amplification, where the Arctic warms up to four times faster than the global average, can weaken and wobble the jet stream, stalling weather patterns. This creates persistent heat domes, amplifying extreme temperatures across Europe.
A lesser-known but crucial factor behind extreme heat is soil moisture, or the lack of it. During hot weather, moist soils act like natural air conditioners. As water evaporates, it cools the land surface, much like how sweating cools our bodies. But when soils are dry, that cooling mechanism is not working. The result is a feedback loop: dry soils mean less evaporation, which means hotter temperatures, which in turn dry the soil even further. This phenomenon has likely played a major role in intensifying Europe’s recent heatwaves, particularly in drought-stricken regions of the Mediterranean and central Europe.
In 2022 and 2023, vast swathes of farmland across southern and western Europe wilted under scorching heat. In France and Italy, crop yields tumbled. Water levels in rivers like the Rhine and Po plummeted, disrupting transport and irrigation. Wildfires, fanned by dry vegetation and intense heat, spread across Greece, Portugal, and Spain with devastating speed.
Urban areas are particularly vulnerable during heatwaves due to the urban heat island effect. Concrete, asphalt, and rooftops absorb and retain heat, often making cities several degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside, especially at night, when retained heat prevents buildings from cooling.
In places like Rome, Paris, Milan, and Madrid, overnight temperatures have often failed to drop below 25°C, which is a threshold considered dangerous to health, particularly for older people, infants, and those with pre-existing conditions. These warm nights, exacerbated by urban heat islands and climate change, increase risks of heatstroke and mortality. The summer of 2022 is estimated to have caused more than 60,000 excess deaths across Europe due to heat-related illnesses, a toll that highlights the silent lethality of extreme heat. In many cities, heatwaves now pose a bigger public health threat than cold snaps.
There’s no doubt that Europe’s summers are changing. But the worst outcomes are not inevitable. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains the most critical step in limiting future warming. The Paris Agreement aims to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C, but current policies are not yet on track to meet that goal.
In the meantime, adaptation is essential. Urban design can make a difference by increasing the area for green spaces, shaded streets, and reflective materials can help cool cities. Nature-based solutions, such as planting trees, restoring wetlands, and creating green roofs, provide cooling, improve air quality, and support biodiversity.
Public health systems must also adapt. Early warning systems, heat-health action plans, and community outreach can protect the most vulnerable during extreme heat events. Building regulations should ensure homes can stay cool passively, rather than relying on air conditioning, which in itself can contribute to emissions if powered by fossil fuels.
The scientific evidence is clear. Heatwaves in Europe are becoming more intense, more frequent, and more dangerous because of human-caused climate change. What were rare events are now happening every few years. Without serious intervention, could soon become an annual feature of European summers.
If we act decisively, cutting emissions, rethinking urban planning, and protecting the vulnerable, we can keep Europe liveable in the decades to come. The choice is ours. Do we endure summers of extreme heat or rise to the challenge of a warming world, which is backed by science and smart solutions.
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