DistantNews
Support us
🇸🇪 Sweden /Disasters & Emergencies

Study: June heatwave was the most severe ever recorded in Western Europe

From Svenska Dagbladet · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A new study indicates that the extreme heatwave in Western Europe in June was the most intense ever recorded in the region.
  • The study highlights that heatwaves now cause more deaths in Europe than all other natural disasters combined, with nearly 400 cities exceeding thresholds for dangerous heat stress.
  • Researchers attribute the worsening heatwaves to a significant increase in fossil fuel emissions over the past two decades, making such events ten to hundreds of times more likely than in 2003.

Western Europe experienced its most severe heatwave on record in June, according to a new study by the World Weather Attribution research network. The extreme temperatures have led to more fatalities across Europe than all other natural disasters combined. Nearly 400 cities surpassed critical limits for heat stress that poses a risk to human health.

The study points to the substantial rise in fossil fuel emissions over the last 20 years as a key factor exacerbating these heatwaves. Events of this magnitude are now significantly more probable, being ten to hundreds of times more likely than in 2003 and almost impossible just 50 years ago. This underscores the escalating impact of climate change on regional weather patterns.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Svenska Dagbladet in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog