Is Europe Heatwave ‘Virtually Impossible’ Without Climate Change?

Europe’s record-breaking heatwave highlights the growing impact of climate change, with scientists warning that such extreme temperatures are becoming more frequent due to global warming.

“Without human-caused climate change, which has rendered this week's soaring nighttime temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just 20 years ago, the record-breaking Europe heatwave gripping Western Europe would have been virtually impossible," scientists said.

Scientists from Europe, the US, and the UK came to the conclusion that a comparable heatwave in June 1976 would have been 3.5°C colder throughout the day.

In the midst of the deadly heatwave that has killed dozens, crippled electricity supplies, and closed schools and cultural institutions, Britain achieved a record-high temperature for June on Thursday.

According to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) investigation, heatwaves in Europe have gotten worse in just a few decades due to global warming. According to WWA, a comparable heatwave in June 1976 would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius colder than this one.

According to the study, 45% of the more than 800 European towns examined have registered or are expected to record their worst heat stress levels for late June. When the body is unable to cool itself through perspiration, heat stress results.

 Dangerous and Unpleasant

Scientists compared the current heatwave to how it could have behaved in the colder climes of 2003 and 1976 using observed and predicted temperatures. The present occurrence was very severe even when compared to 2003, when a significant heatwave in Europe claimed tens of thousands of lives.

According to WWA, it is "critical if we are to avoid even higher temperatures and their consequences in the future" that fossil fuels be phased out quickly.

CIO Bulletin is of the view that the European heatwaves are becoming severe, putting climate change front and centre in the debate over changing weather patterns and the increasing frequency of extreme events. Scientists say manmade global warming is increasing the odds of extreme heat waves, and they are calling for tougher climate rules; a better transition to cleaner energy and better adaptations.