The world's fastest warming continent experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022, as countries were hit by blistering heatwaves, crop-withering droughts and devastating wildfires.
The European Union's statistics agency Eurostat had reported an unusually high number of excess deaths over the summer, but the amount directly linked to the heat had not been previously quantified.
A team of researchers looked at data on temperature and mortality from 2015 to 2022 for 823 regions across 35 European countries, covering a total of 543 million people.
The researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and France's health research institute INSERM used models to predict the deaths attributable to temperature for each region in every week of 2022's summer.
They estimated that 61,672 deaths were linked to the heat between May 30 and September 4 last year, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
A particularly intense heatwave in the week of July 18-24 caused more than 11,600 deaths alone, the study said.
"It is a very high number of deaths," said Hicham Achebak, an INSERM researcher and study co-author.
"We knew the effect of heat on mortality after 2003, but with this analysis, we see that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to protect the population," he told AFP.
More than 70,000 excess deaths were recorded in 2003 during one of the worst heatwaves in European history.
- Women and over-80s vulnerable -
Last year France recorded the biggest rise in heat compared to its previous summer average, with a jump of 2.43 degrees Celsius, the study said.
Switzerland was not far behind with a 2.30C rise, followed by Italy with 2.28C and Hungary with 2.13C.
Italy had the highest death toll linked to the heat with 18,010, followed by Spain with 11,324 and Germany with 8,173.
The majority of deaths were of people over the age of 80, the study said.
Around 63 percent of those who died due to the heat were women, the analysis said.
The difference became more stark over the age of 80, when women had a mortality rate 27 percent higher than men.
Previous research has shown that Europe is warming at twice the global average.
While the world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2C since the mid-1800s, last year Europe was around 2.3C hotter than pre-industrial times.
Unless something is done to protect people against rising temperatures, by 2030 Europe will face an average of more than 68,000 heat-related deaths every summer, the new study estimated.
By 2040, there would be an average of more than 94,000 heat-linked deaths -- and by 2050, the number could rise to over 120,000, the researchers said.
"These predictions are based on the current level of vulnerability and future temperatures," Achebak said.
"If we take very effective measures, that vulnerability can be reduced," he added.
Raquel Nunes, a health and climate expert at the UK's Warwick University not involved in the research, said the study "highlights the urgent need for action to protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of heatwaves".
Chloe Brimicombe, a climate scientist at Austria's University of Graz, said it "demonstrates that heat prevention strategies need to be re-evaluated, with gender and age especially in mind".
Europe in summer: scorching new normal
Paris (AFP) July 10, 2023 -
As the holiday season gets underway on the world's fastest warming continent, AFP looks back at a series of brutally hot, dry summers in Europe that have left tens of thousands of people dead.
- 2022: hottest ever -
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, and caused the worst drought in centuries and devastating wildfires in France and Spain.
Two heatwaves, one in mid-June and one in July, also made it one of the deadliest summers in years, according to the Nature Medicine journal, which estimates that the heat killed more than 61,000 people.
France recorded the biggest rise in heat compared to its previous summer average, with a jump of 2.43 degrees Celsius (36.37 Fahrenheit), Nature's figures showed.
The mercury topped 40C for the first time in the UK in July.
- 2021: Blistering heat in Greece -
Between late July and early August, Greece endured the country's worst heatwave in over 30 years.
In Spain, temperatures hit 47C in parts of the south.
The resulting drought sparked large wildfires along the Mediterranean, from Turkey to Spain.
- 2019: Northern Europe swelters -
The summer of 2019 brought two heatwaves, one in late June and one in mid-July.
In France, temperatures hit an all-time record 46C in the southern town of Verargues.
In late July, northern Europe sizzled, with temperatures of 42.6C recorded at Lingen in northwestern Germany.
- 2018: Drought drains the Danube -
The second half of July and beginning of August 2018 saw very high temperatures across much of Europe.
The Danube fell to its lowest level in 100 years in some areas, exposing World War II tanks in Serbia submerged since the conflict.
- 2017: Months of mugginess -
Much of Europe, but especially the south, sweated from late June well into August.
Spain experienced a record 47.3C on July 13 in the southern town of Montoro.
- 2015: Back-to-back heatwaves -
It was heatwave after heatwave throughout the summer of 2015.
In Britain, roads melted and trains were delayed in what was at the time the hottest July on record.
- 2007: Greek forests ablaze -
Central and southern Europe were parched throughout June and July.
In Greece, the worst forest fires in half a century -- some believed to be the result of arson but others the product of heat and drought -- consumed four percent of the country's forests.
- 2003: 70,000 dead -
Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal all experienced exceptional heat in the first half of August.
An EU study of 16 nations puts the number of excess deaths across the bloc during the heatwave as high as 70,000.
In France, most of the estimated 15,000-20,000 fatalities were elderly people left to fend for themselves. Since then the country has devised new systems to protect vulnerable people from the heat.
Greece to cool tourists in season's first heatwave warning
Athens (AFP) July 10, 2023 -
Greece's culture ministry on Monday said it would boost shade and hand out free water at the Acropolis as the country's weather service issued the year's first heatwave warning.
The national weather service EMY on Monday said a six-day heatwave would grip Greece from Wednesday, with temperatures hitting highs of 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) towards the end of the week.
The culture ministry in a statement said some outdoor archaeological sites may close during the warmest hours, depending on local conditions.
At the Acropolis, Greece's most-visited site, the ministry said shading canopies would be set up to shield the monument's thousands of visitors, while Red Cross staff will hand out free water at peak temperature hours.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni last week said the ministry was seeking ways to address massive queues at the 2,500-year-old monument, noting that visitor numbers have jumped by 80 percent compared to 2019.
Much of the problem is caused by cruise ships disembarking hundreds of passengers simultaneously early in the morning, operators say.
She told Skai radio that a time slot system to reduce bottlenecks by spreading out visits throughout the day is ready to be implemented.
"The project is ready... it could be implemented in July," she said.
According to the Greek state statistics agency Elstat, over three million people visited the Acropolis last year, up from 1.2 million in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greece is counting on tourism to boost its economy after its near-decade debt crisis. Officials hope to exceed the 31.3 million arrivals recorded in 2019, a record year for the country.
Tourist numbers visiting Greece are ticking up to levels rivalling pre-pandemic times as the world witnesses a resurgence in demand for leisure travel.
Spain sweats as temperatures soar in new summer heatwave
Madrid (AFP) July 10, 2023 -
Temperatures were soaring across Spain on Monday with the mercury set to touch 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) in the south as the country braced for its second heatwave in a fortnight.
The AEMET weather agency said the heat was caused by a mass of hot air arriving from North Africa, indicating it would last until at least Wednesday, with the southern Andalusia region expected to be worst hit.
"The heat will be very intense on both Monday and Tuesday in most of the peninsular as well as the Balearic isles, with temperatures of between 38C and 40C in much of the country and 42C and 44C in parts of Andalusia and (the northeastern region of) Aragon," said AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo.
Spain's first heatwave of the summer began two weeks ago on June 26 with the mercury pushing above 44C in parts of Andalusia, with the intense heat claiming several lives.
Last year, Spain experienced its hottest summer on record since records began in 1916, with soaring temperatures directly responsible for more than 350 deaths from heatstroke and dehydration, figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, and experts say Spain is likely to be one of the countries worst hit by climate change.
Although it has become accustomed to soaring summer temperatures, notably in the south, Spain has experienced an uptick in longer and hotter heatwaves and a worrying shortage of rainfall.
Swiss sweltered in 2022 with hottest year on record
Geneva (AFP) July 10, 2023 -
Switzerland said Monday it experienced its hottest year on record in 2022, with its cherished Alpine glaciers melting at three times the rate previously considered extreme.
The record heat had a negative effect on the landlocked European nation's lakes, rivers, forests and agriculture, the environment ministry said in its climate overview for the year.
"For Switzerland, 2022 was the hottest year in history," it said in a statement.
"The year 2022 was the warmest and sunniest year since measurements began in 1864. While the annual average temperature for 1991 to 2020 was 5.8 degrees Celsius (42.4 degrees Fahrenheit), that of 2022 was climbed to 7.4C (45.3F)".
In the summer months, temperatures above 36C (97F) were recorded both north and south of the Alps. "Only the scorching summer of 2003... was warmer," the environment ministry said.
The hottest day ever in Switzerland was recorded in Geneva on August 4, with thermometers hitting 38.3C (100.9F).
- Melting away -
Swiss glaciers have never lost so much of their volume as in 2022: six percent of the remaining ice melted away last year.
"The year 2022 redefines the game, because until then, a loss of two percent was already considered extreme," the overview said.
Small glaciers have "practically disappeared", the environment ministry said, so much so that measurement has been suspended for the Pizol Vadret dal Corvatsch and Schwarzbachfirn glaciers.
Lake Constance reached a record low water level of 394.7 metres between July 15 and August 20, while Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore were at historically low levels for the first eight months of the year.
Low water levels had a "considerable impact" on hydroelectric power plants, with many forced to suspend operations at points, with production down 15.2 percent on the year before.
Temperatures in Switzerland's lakes and rivers often reached 25C (77F) or above. At those temperatures, oxygen levels decrease, with some lake experiencing algae blooms, while the survival of fish is also threatened.
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