The Fort Worth Press - Europe suffered record number of 'extreme heat stress' days in 2023: monitors

USD -
AED 3.673042
AFN 68.345223
ALL 91.574579
AMD 389.145335
ANG 1.812375
AOA 912.503981
ARS 999.314589
AUD 1.519295
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.823845
BBD 2.030401
BDT 120.165991
BGN 1.8241
BHD 0.379074
BIF 2968.993332
BMD 1
BND 1.329137
BOB 6.964144
BRL 5.737904
BSD 1.005642
BTN 84.841703
BWP 13.337063
BYN 3.290903
BYR 19600
BZD 2.02695
CAD 1.39318
CDF 2866.000362
CHF 0.875866
CLF 0.034749
CLP 958.828741
CNY 7.179204
CNH 7.119295
COP 4328.157784
CRC 514.384296
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 102.82557
CZK 23.557404
DJF 179.073996
DKK 6.957104
DOP 60.558586
DZD 133.324008
EGP 49.274957
ERN 15
ETB 124.505712
EUR 0.932604
FJD 2.238204
FKP 0.765169
GBP 0.774144
GEL 2.720391
GGP 0.765169
GHS 16.491817
GIP 0.765169
GMD 71.503851
GNF 8668.811489
GTQ 7.773581
GYD 210.388399
HKD 7.77435
HNL 25.372313
HRK 6.88903
HTG 132.326199
HUF 379.790388
IDR 15654.85
ILS 3.74981
IMP 0.765169
INR 84.38315
IQD 1317.293794
IRR 42092.503816
ISK 138.740386
JEP 0.765169
JMD 159.54679
JOD 0.709104
JPY 152.65504
KES 129.715112
KGS 86.203799
KHR 4083.55481
KMF 460.375039
KPW 899.999774
KRW 1398.203789
KWD 0.30667
KYD 0.837973
KZT 495.034271
LAK 22070.219611
LBP 90051.475731
LKR 294.204318
LRD 190.562783
LSL 17.597892
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.879937
MAD 9.930713
MDL 18.035156
MGA 4652.398937
MKD 57.45792
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3398.000028
MOP 8.051942
MRU 40.06248
MUR 46.403741
MVR 15.450378
MWK 1743.740383
MXN 20.176204
MYR 4.382504
MZN 63.903729
NAD 17.597892
NGN 1668.080377
NIO 37.002844
NOK 10.999904
NPR 135.746724
NZD 1.676306
OMR 0.384818
PAB 1.005642
PEN 3.771996
PGK 4.036928
PHP 58.455038
PKR 279.24409
PLN 4.03435
PYG 7863.104397
QAR 3.6669
RON 4.641704
RSD 109.153038
RUB 97.915792
RWF 1378.467851
SAR 3.755989
SBD 8.340754
SCR 13.420525
SDG 601.503676
SEK 10.813404
SGD 1.325604
SHP 0.765169
SLE 22.850371
SLL 20969.496802
SOS 574.719075
SRD 34.97037
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.799366
SYP 2512.530268
SZL 17.593137
THB 34.215038
TJS 10.689514
TMT 3.51
TND 3.122208
TOP 2.342104
TRY 34.340368
TTD 6.83359
TWD 32.250367
TZS 2684.944281
UAH 41.514524
UGX 3680.701264
UYU 42.010538
UZS 12858.674873
VEF 3622552.534434
VES 44.647491
VND 25275
VUV 118.722039
WST 2.801184
XAF 611.700471
XAG 0.029645
XAU 0.000367
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.753952
XOF 611.700471
XPF 111.21369
YER 249.825037
ZAR 18.463855
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.377256
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    61.4000

    61.4

    +100%

  • RELX

    0.3200

    47.98

    +0.67%

  • VOD

    -0.0100

    9.31

    -0.11%

  • NGG

    -0.3600

    63.94

    -0.56%

  • GSK

    -0.3700

    36.29

    -1.02%

  • RIO

    -3.0400

    64.43

    -4.72%

  • AZN

    -0.2000

    64.49

    -0.31%

  • BTI

    -0.0100

    35.39

    -0.03%

  • CMSC

    0.1600

    24.84

    +0.64%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.15

    +0.14%

  • BP

    -0.8800

    28.93

    -3.04%

  • BCC

    1.4700

    142.32

    +1.03%

  • SCS

    0.0600

    13.14

    +0.46%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    13.53

    +1.18%

  • BCE

    0.3000

    28.37

    +1.06%

  • CMSD

    0.2350

    25.125

    +0.94%

Europe suffered record number of 'extreme heat stress' days in 2023: monitors
Europe suffered record number of 'extreme heat stress' days in 2023: monitors / Photo: © AFP/File

Europe suffered record number of 'extreme heat stress' days in 2023: monitors

Europe endured a record number of "extreme heat stress" days in 2023, two leading climate monitors said Monday, underscoring the threat of increasingly deadly summers across the continent.

Text size:

In a year of contrasting extremes, Europe witnessed scorching heatwaves but also catastrophic flooding, withering droughts, violent storms and its largest wildfire.

These disasters inflicted billions of dollars in damages and impacted more than two million people, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new joint report.

The consequences for health were particularly acute, with heat singled out by these agencies as the biggest climate-related threat as global warming drives ever-hotter European summers.

"We're seeing an increasing trend in the number of days with heat stress across Europe and 2023 was no exception, with Europe seeing a record number of days with extreme heat stress," said Rebecca Emerton, a climate scientist at Copernicus.

For this study, Copernicus and WMO used the Universal Thermal Climate Index, which measures the effect of the environment on the human body.

It takes into account not just high temperatures but also humidity, wind speed, sunshine, and heat emitted by the surroundings.

The index has 10 different categories of heat and cold stress, with units of degrees Celsius representing a 'feels-like' temperature.

Extreme heat stress "is equivalent to a feels-like temperature of more than 46 degrees Celsius, at which point it's imperative to take actions to avoid health risks such as heat stroke", said Emerton.

- 'Extended summer' -

Prolonged exposure to heat stress is particularly dangerous for vulnerable people such as the elderly or those with pre-existing health conditions.

The effect of heat is stronger in cities, the report said.

Twenty-three of the 30 worst heatwaves on record in Europe have occurred this century and heat-related deaths have soared around 30 percent in the past 20 years, the report said.

2023 was not the hottest summer in Europe -- in fact, it was the fifth -- but that doesn't mean it wasn't blazing.

Much of Europe sweltered from heatwaves during an "extended summer" between June and September, Emerton said.

September was the warmest on record for Europe as a whole, she added.

On July 23, an unprecedented 13 percent of Europe was experiencing high levels of heat stress, with southern Europe the worst affected.

The data on deaths in Europe from extreme heat in 2023 is not available yet.

But tens of thousands of people are estimated to have died due to heatwaves during equally sweltering European summers in 2003, 2010 and 2022, the report said.

"We see that there is excess mortality when we see such extreme heatwaves like was the case in 2023," said Alvaro Silva, a climatologist from WMO.

"This increase in mortality... is affecting (the) big majority of European regions. This is a big concern."

- Serious consequences -

Scientists agree that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet, causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.

Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average and heatwaves will become longer and more powerful in future, the report said.

This -- coupled with ageing populations and more people moving to cities -- will have "serious consequences for public health", it added.

"Current heatwave interventions will soon be insufficient to deal with the expected heat-related health burden."

2023 was the hottest year globally on record and oceans, which absorb 90 percent of excess heat produced by carbon dioxide emissions, also warmed to new highs.

Average sea surface temperatures in Europe were the warmest on record, the report said, with a severe marine heatwave in part of the Atlantic Ocean described as "beyond extreme".

Glaciers in all parts of Europe saw a loss of ice, while Greece suffered the largest wildfire in the history of the EU.

2023 was also one of Europe's wettest years, with major flooding affecting 1.6 million people, and storms another 550,000.

Emerton said that economic cost of these extreme events was 13.4 billion euros ($14.3 billion) -- about 80 percent attributed to flooding.

K.Ibarra--TFWP