The 2024 heat wave peaked in early June, further demonstrating that human activity is accelerating climate change. June of this year was also the 12th month in a row that average global temperatures have been 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco experienced extreme heat in July, killing at least 23 people, causing deadly fires and disrupting many people’s daily routines.
Many countries bordering the Mediterranean were hit by extreme heat, following very high temperatures in Eastern Europe in early July.
Studies continue to show that human-caused climate change is breaking heat records. In many regions, the impact of global warming is so great that the temperatures recorded during the heat waves would not have been possible without the warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. This includes parts of the US, the Sahel, West Africa, the Philippines and other countries in East Asia, as well as the Mediterranean.
The EU’s Copernicus climate monitoring service and the World Meteorological Organization, in a report on Europe’s climate, highlighted last year’s extreme conditions, including a heat wave in July that caused 41% more stress on the population of southern Europe. According to scientists, extreme heat poses particular health risks for outdoor workers, the elderly and people with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Parts of Italy recorded 7% more deaths than normal last July, while in France, Spain and Greece people experienced ten times more stress with unusual temperatures above 47 degrees Celsius, according to the report. Deaths from heatwaves have risen by about 30% in Europe in the past 20 years, the report said.
Europe was hit hardest by the phenomenon. Record temperatures forced authorities in Greece to close the Acropolis tourist monument.
In the Attica region around Athens, fires have destroyed 37% of forests and grasslands since 2017. The data was published in August by the National Observatory of Athens. More than 60% of the forests have been burned, even stopping their growth. Year after year, the fires have sparked a debate about what the government should do next: continue with a tree-planting program or, as some scientists have suggested, look for new ways to adapt.
