- A historic heatwave in June caused 16,000 excess deaths in Europe, mostly in the north
- Deaths spiked in France, Belgium, Germany due to lack of heat preparedness and use of air conditioning
- Southern Europe better adapted to heat, facing fewer deaths despite higher temperatures
There was a historic increase in deaths in Europe after a week of extreme heatwave in June, and most of the deaths were from northern European countries that are not used to such high temperatures -- France, Belgium and Germany.
About 16,000 more people died compared to the usual numbers in Europe because of the heatwave, the European Mortality Monitoring Network stated in an analysis.
According to the New York Times, when temperatures crossed 37 degrees Celsius across Europe, deaths spiked only in northwestern countries because they were not prepared for the heat. The low adoption of air-conditioning in the north has also become a political issue.
Meanwhile, southern European countries have ways to beat the heat, as they have been battling high temperatures for centuries.
In June, there were more deaths due to the heatwave than in winter when respiratory diseases due to viruses are rife.
Heatwaves are rare in Europe, and the last one that happened hit the continent in 2003, killing tens of thousands. The European Mortality Monitoring Network stated that even in 2022, over 16,000 more people died due to the heatwave in July. At the time, temperatures in Spain reached over 46 degrees Celsius.
Although June was when the temperatures were the hottest on record, scientists have warned that climate change has more in store.
Europe Could Face Another Heatwave
Much of Europe is bracing for yet another heatwave following periods of scorching temperatures that have driven rivers to record lows, ignited historic forest fires and contributed to thousands of deaths.
Parts of Britain and France this week were already under extreme heat warnings with forecasts of temperatures around the mid-30s Celsius.
The United Kingdom's Met Office warned at the weekend that the summer's fifth hot spell was about to take hold in a country whose infrastructure has been built for a more temperate, cooler climate.
"Yet another spell of extremely hot weather is set to spread north across much of the UK with temperatures reaching the mid-30s Celsius in places," it said on X on Sunday.
In France, the national weather agency Meteo-France warned on Monday that the southeast would see temperatures as high as 35C, with that level of spreading as the week progresses.
"The intense heat will affect almost the entire country between Wednesday and Friday," it said in a bulletin.
The agency also warned that due to climate change, "future summers will generally be hotter than those experienced to date".
