Europe reels under extreme heat; WHO calls it ‘health emergency’

Rome: Europe is witnessing a record heatwave, putting several countries under pressure as the World Health Organisation has called the situation a “health emergency”.

In Italy, the red alerts will rise to 16 on Wednesday, reports Adnkronos.

Tuesday was officially the hottest day ever recorded in France since measurements began in 1947. At 3 p.m., the national thermal index was 29.6 degrees Celsius, while the previous record, of 29.4 degrees Celsius, had been recorded on July 25, 2019, but also during the historic heatwave of 2003, on August 5. And according to Meteo-France, the temperature situation is set to worsen in the coming hours.

Forty deaths by drowning have been recorded since June 18. And among the victims, who were seeking relief, there are many young people. The Eiffel Tower closed early Tuesday, at 4 p.m., “exceptionally” in light of the “extreme temperatures expected”, the website read. The Louvre museum also closed earlier for the same reason.

Spain is experiencing similar critical conditions. The Aemet agency has issued a red alert for Andalusia, with forecasts of 44 degrees Celsius, and warnings for the regions of Cantabria and the Basque Country, where temperatures will reach 40 degrees Celsius.

In the United Kingdom, the meteorological office has issued a rare red warning for central and southern England, forecasting temperatures up to 40 degrees. Several schools have suspended educational activities.

“Heat is no longer just a meteorological issue. It’s a health emergency.” This is the warning launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, who warns: “Rising temperatures are already putting human lives at risk and putting health systems under pressure across the WHO European Region,” he writes in a post on X, relaunching the content of an interview he gave to BBC News. “Our region – Kluge insists – is the fastest warming in the world. In the last 4 years alone, heat has caused over 200,000 deaths, while heat-related mortality has increased by 30 per cent in the last 20 years.”

But heat-related deaths “are not inevitable – emphasises the WHO Europe director – We know how to protect people: timely warning communities, making cities cooler, ensuring access to water and shade, monitoring people most at risk, and preparing health systems before temperatures peak. These are the practical steps recommended in the new Guidelines for Heat and Health Action Plans, published by WHO Europe.”

In Italy, the heat will be increasingly widespread and muggy with super tropical nights (minimum temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday.

The red alert cities, meaning those at maximum alert (level 3) indicating emergency conditions with possible negative health effects even on healthy and active people and not only on at-risk subgroups such as the elderly, very young children, and people suffering from chronic diseases, will be 16: Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona, and Viterbo. And the situation is not expected to improve for now.

After the dominance of the Cerberus anticyclone, in the coming days, we will indeed see a further strengthening of high pressure with the arrival of the African anticyclone Charon, destined to establish itself as one of the most extreme anticyclonic figures ever observed in June for intensity and persistence over at least half of Europe.

IANS