How Climate Change Is 'Burning' Europe

The extreme heatwave gripping Western and Central Europe this summer was made nearly unavoidable by human-induced climate change, scientists reported. A study found that a heatwave of this geographical and temporal scale remains rare for June, even with today's climate conditions, carrying less than a 1% chance of occurrence.

Researchers analyzed decades of temperature data, concluding that such an event would have been far less likely 20 years ago and "virtually impossible" 50 years ago when the planet was cooler. "This event could not have happened in any given June without climate change," stated lead author Theodor Kipping, a climatologist at Imperial College London.

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This event could not have happened in any given June without climate change.

The study highlights the rapidly increasing risks to human health and economic well-being stemming from the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have driven global temperatures up for over a century, allowing weather systems to produce hotter days and nights. The intensity of future heatwaves hinges directly on how effectively industrialized nations cut their emissions, Kipping warned.

This week's heatwave, which shattered records from the Iberian Peninsula to northern Germany, was fueled by a high-pressure system that trapped warm air from North Africa. While such "heat domes" are responsible for many extreme summer temperatures in Western Europe, their frequency is dangerously increasing due to human-caused climate change, according to climatologist Friederike Otto, head of World Weather Attribution. The research used historical meteorological records to calculate how global warming has altered the probability of heatwaves of varying intensities.

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The temperatures it produces are extreme and rare. Their frequency is increasing, however, dangerously with human-caused climate change.