As Europe continues to face a record-breaking heatwave, the World Health Organization warns future summers will only be hotter.
June has been one of the hottest months on record in Europe, with temperatures reaching unmatched highs in multiple countries and causing an increased in heat-related deaths.
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And it is only the beginning. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the summers ahead will be harder.
“This heatwave is a dress rehearsal,” said Dr Hans Henri Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Europe is warming at more than twice the global average and heatwaves are no longer one-off freak events. They are recurring crises, and they are becoming more frequent, stronger and longer-lasting, Kluge added.
In the past month, France has reported over 1,000 deaths since 24 June alone, with the majority among people aged 65 and over, and emergency calls have risen by up to 50% in some cities.
Spain's mortality monitoring system has already estimated 892 heat-associated excess deaths in June.
Kluge warned that every summer we fail to prepare for is a summer we pay for in lives.
However, for the WHO, it is not all bad news as the agency stresses that prevention works.
According to WHO’s Europe chief, estimates show that heat-related deaths in Europe in 2023 would have been around 80% higher without the adaptation measures already in place. For people aged 80 or above, deaths could have been twice as high.
“Heat-health action plans, early warnings, cooling spaces, outreach to vulnerable people — these are not bureaucratic exercises. They are saving lives right now — we need more of them, across all of the European Region,” Kluge added.
The heatwave is now expected to spread over large parts of Western, Central and Southern Europe and the Balkans by 30 June, according the World Meteorological Organization.
