With the imminence of a new heat wave in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday (7/7) of the possibility of the continent facing “deadlier weeks” with rising thermometers. There have already been more than 9,000 deaths associated with high temperatures in the last heat wave, at the end of June, 5,000 of which in Germany alone. But this number is expected to increase.
Europe could experience deadlier weeks with new heat wave, WHO warns
With the imminence of a new heat wave in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday (7/7) of the possibility of the continent facing “deadlier weeks” with rising thermometers. There have already been...
WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge said countries that already have high temperature health action plans responded more quickly and better protected their populations in the latest heatwave. The problem is that less than half of the European nations that make up the entity have these plans, report Folha, UOL, Reuters and Euronews.
The heat wave from June 20 to 28 was the most severe ever recorded in Europe, according to experts. High temperatures disrupted electricity generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems. A study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of climate scientists, showed that extreme heat would be practically impossible without climate change, caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
Kluge said nursing home residents, people experiencing homelessness and socially isolated elderly people were still not being served consistently on the mainland. “The work now is on two fronts: fixing what has failed in recent weeks before the next heat wave arrives, and building the kind of health system that not only responds to extreme heat, but is prepared for it,” declared the WHO director.
The next heat wave to reach the continent is already forming over the Atlantic. Portugal and southern Spain are expected to register 43°C in the coming days. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are also expected to feel the rise in temperatures soon.
Independent, Bloomberg, Straits Times, CNN Brasil, SBT News and Bloomberg echoed the WHO warning.
Source: ClimaInfo
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