Intense heat poses a grave threat. Evidence from recent heatwaves reveals an increasing lethality.
A recent study led by Imperial College London has revealed that climate change significantly increased the severity and death toll of the 2025 European heatwave, making it hotter and more deadly than it would have been without global warming.
The study, which focused on 10 days of extreme heat in 12 European cities, found that climate change made the heatwave 1-4°C hotter, causing surface air temperatures to exceed 40°C in multiple countries and reaching as high as 46°C in Spain and Portugal. This increase in temperature directly contributed to a tripling of the heatwave's death toll.
The hotter conditions led to a total of approximately 2,300 estimated deaths during the 10-day heatwave across the 12 cities, with around 1,500 of these excess deaths (65%) attributed directly to climate change. People over 65 years old accounted for 88% of the excess deaths during the heat wave, while nearly 200 estimated deaths occurred among those aged 20 to 65.
Heat has a particularly harmful effect on people with underlying health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory problems. The study highlighted that in a hotter world, not just heat is being supercharged, but another region can suffer intense rainfall and catastrophic flooding.
Professor Richard Allan, a climate science expert at the University of Reading, stated that the study provides evidence that climate change is making heat waves more intense, meaning that moderate heat becomes dangerous and record heat becomes unprecedented. He also noted that the techniques used in the study were robust, leaving no doubt that climate change is already a deadly force in Europe.
The heatwave, which lasted for more than a week, also led to strain on power grids due to increased electricity demand and very high daily electricity price spreads. The hotter conditions highlighted the growing challenge for European infrastructure and public health systems as these extreme events become more frequent and severe with ongoing global warming.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, emphasized the need to stop burning fossil fuels, urgently adapt cities, and protect the poorest and most vulnerable to prevent heat waves from becoming hotter and deadlier. She stressed that the study's findings underscore the urgency of taking action against climate change to protect public health and safety.
In conclusion, climate change has made recent European heat waves markedly hotter, significantly increased their death toll, and extended their temporal duration and geographical reach, thus exacerbating their overall health and societal impacts. The study serves as a stark reminder of the need for urgent action to address climate change and protect vulnerable populations from the devastating effects of extreme heat events.
- The study, which focuses on environmental science, reveals the detrimental impact of climate change on health-and-wellness, as it exacerbates the severity and death toll of heatwaves, making temperatures hotter and deadlier.
- In a hotter world, mental health might also be affected, as intense heatwaves could become more frequent and severe due to climate change, posing a significant challenge to public health and safety.
- Addressing climate change becomes ever more critical, according to the researchers, as it is crucial to prevent climate-change related intensification of extreme heat events, thereby reducing their devastating effects on people's health and well-being as well as on the environment.
