Many European nations experienced severe and unprecedented heat throughout the summer of 2022. This extreme heat is unusual for the continent, but scientists have cautioned for years that more intense and recurrent heat waves would arise due to climate change, even in the most unexpected places. While climate change has caused a mere 2ºF increase in average global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, the resultant spikes in extreme temperatures are large, frequent, and may now be considered dangerous, as shown by the severe and deadly heat wave that raged through Europe in the summer of 2022. See also: Europe; Extreme weather events; Global warming; Global climate change; Heat
Over the weekend of July 16th, 2022, the United Kingdom experienced unprecedented heat. This intense heat, which reached 39.1ºC (102.4ºF), was the highest temperature ever recorded in the U.K., and prompted the Meteorological Office to declare the first-ever “red warning.” A red warning signifies a dangerous combination of warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds that may combine to form large fires. The U.K.'s Health Security Agency raised the heat alert level to a 4 (the highest level), indicating the heatwave was severe and prolonged, thus requiring an emergency response. The U.K.’s hospitals prepared for a rush of heat-related injuries and casualties, travel by train and flight was disrupted, and forecasters predicted that the heat could rise even more. Not only did the despair due to the heat wave impact the U.K., but France also saw 100 of its all-time heat records broken. France’s energy demand increased as people tried to cool off, yet the nation had to decrease its nuclear power output to decrease temperatures of the rivers used to cool power plants. On top of this, Spain estimated that more than 500 casualties occurred nationwide due to the heat throughout the weekend of July 16th, and thousands were forced to evacuate France, Spain, and Portugal from erupting wildfires, as the heat wave created the perfect conditions for the ignition of large blazes. See also: Fire; Humidity; Nuclear power; Temperature; Temperature measurement
In Europe and other places with milder climates, heat waves are especially dangerous. Research has shown that the dangers of heat waves are not directly correlated with the amount of heat or temperature, but rather by how much the heat wave deviates from normal temperatures. Less than five percent of homes across Europe have air conditioning, as Europeans are accustomed to to milder temperatures. This acclimation also causes Europe’s inhabitants to ignore or miss warning signs of dangerous heat. Not only can lack of adaptation to heat worsen the severity of Europe’s heat wave, but Europe’s physical infrastructure causes heat islands, which originate from accumulation of glass, steel, and metal typically occurring in centralized cities and their surroundings. Approximately 72% of Europeans live in centralized areas where these heat islands can occur. Lastly, jet streams—narrow bands of strong winds in Earth's upper atmosphere—have been changing and will continue to change to enhance heat over Europe. This combination came together to create extremely severe and dangerous heat in Europe in the summer of 2022 and will continue to do so in the future. See also: Counteracting the urban heat island effect with tree cover; Jet stream; Temperature adaptation in animals
In 2020, the U.K.'s Meteorological Organization formulated a hypothetical weather forecast for 2050 using climate prediction technology. The heat increases that were expected by 2050 transpired on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. This heat was extreme, and climate scientists predict many more extremes moving forward. On the bright side, heat waves and other natural disasters have become much less fatal, as we are now equipped with better prediction tools and more resources to cope with heat and health risks. While it is difficult for scientists to predict how climate change will continue to cause these temperature extremes, it is a near certainty that summers will continue to get hotter and hotter in Europe and across the globe. See also: Climate modeling; Climatology; Extreme weather events
