European heatwave most severe ever recorded - analysis

The record-shattering heatwave gripping Europe is unequivocally the most severe ever recorded in the region, directly resulting from climate change driven by fossil fuel consumption. A rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution scientists confirms this stark reality.

June is now warming faster than any other month across Europe. The extreme daytime and nighttime temperatures experienced recently would have been virtually impossible just a few decades ago. Scientists found that Europe's hottest daily temperatures are warming three times faster than the global average, while nighttime temperatures are rising at twice the global rate. Fifty years ago, a similar heatwave would have been approximately 3.5°C cooler.

The analysis reveals that 45% of 854 cities across 30 European countries are already breaking, or are predicted to break, their highest-ever heat stress levels. This poses a significant risk to the body's ability to cool itself. Heatwaves are known to cause more deaths in Europe than all other natural hazards combined. The sweltering overnight temperatures are now one hundred times more likely than they were in 2003, and the likelihood of this week's daytime temperature peaks has increased tenfold.

Scientists emphasize that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation event is not a factor in Europe's heatwave. Instead, a blocked high-pressure system traps hot air over the continent, drawing warmth northward from the Sahara. The report highlights that vulnerable populations, including the elderly living alone, those facing socioeconomic disadvantage, people with chronic illnesses, the homeless, and migrants, are most at risk. Health systems are also under immense pressure as temperatures soar. Over 60,000 heat-related deaths in Europe were attributed to extreme heat in 2022, and another 47,000 in 2023, with the full health impacts of the current event only beginning to emerge.

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Every few years we are seeing heat records shattered in Europe. This year it has been