Europe has been baking for weeks. An intense and prolonged early summer heatwave has left people across the continent sweaty, sleepless and at risk of real damage to their health.
Parisians enjoyed some relief over the weekend as thunderstorms and cooler winds brought temperatures down to somewhat bearable levels. Yet the true human toll is only beginning to become clear. Preliminary data on fatalities is beginning to trickle out, with France’s national health agency tallying 1,000 more deaths than expected from June 24. The toll is expected to climb in the coming days.
Some 85 percent of the dead were people aged 65 and over: the elderly are among the most vulnerable populations to extreme heat. At least 40 more people in France died from drowning as people turned to canals, rivers and open bodies of water for a brief respite from the summer heat.
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Cover image: © France 24 04:55
The situation was so dire that even mortuaries and funeral homes said they were overwhelmed and overburdened by the spike in fatalities. The head of the National Funeral Federation said that occupancy at funeral homes was more than 66 percent nationwide; a significant jump from the normal 30 to 45 percent. Two funeral homes in central Paris have been at full capacity since Friday.
The issue has also been heavily politicised – by critics on France’s left and right admonishing the government's response, or lack thereof. French Prime Minister Sébastian Lecornu on Monday defended the state stance at a meeting, saying that the official measures had "held up well".
Unfortunately, the situation in France is expected to worsen, as this is unlikely to be the last heatwave of the summer.
Temperatures are expected to rise again early July, and Paris will feel the burden. Cities tend to be more vulnerable to extreme heat because of a phenomenon known as the urban heat island, which sees significantly warmer temperatures pool in urban zones compared to surrounding rural areas, primarily due to human activities and dark, heat retaining surfaces like asphalt and concrete.
Read moreParisians are most at risk of dying in European heatwaves
The idyllic summers long enjoyed by many Europeans may be a thing of the past. Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average rate. Scientists haven’t come to a consensus on why, although they say it is almost certainly fuelled by climate change caused by human activity.
Extreme heatwaves are becoming the new normal – so much so that a recent study even posited that Europe’s climate may have permanently changed.
In France, this isn’t just a question of comfort, but a public health issue.
Adapting to the new normal
Epidemiologist Antoine Flahault, who works at Bichat hospital in northern Paris, said that the conditions at his facility were far better than most healthcare centres in the rest of the country simply because it had air conditioning.
“Most of the hospitals beds are not equipped with air conditioning,” he said, referring to the many hospitals in France that do not have this basic facility.
Flahault added that air conditioning in hospitals could reduce mortality during heatwaves by at least 40 percent.
“I think it’s a consensus now among most of the political parties that we need this equipment, this air conditioning” in hospitals, schools and aged care facilities, he said.
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Cover image: © France 24 08:23
Ine Vandecasteele, an expert in the Climate Risk and Resilience Unit of the European Environment Agency, said that what is happening in France right now is an "urgent call to action”.
“Across Europe, we are an ageing population, and more people are living alone," she said. "Half of all hospitals and schools are in urban heat islands. The elderly, children, outdoor workers – these are the people who will need to be taken care of first. Air conditioning will be needed – especially for those people. But at home, it’s a question of equity as well, because not everyone can afford it.”
Vandecasteele said that while air conditioning could provide relief during heatwaves, particularly for the most vulnerable, larger-scale alternatives must be considered to make sure urban spaces remain cool in the long run.
“Putting in an AC is a short-term solution, but it may exacerbate the problem because you’re increasing heat in the outside environment,” she said.
Read more‘Like working in a kettle’: France’s overcrowded prisons swelter under historic heatwave
But this still may not be enough for the prolonged, intense and unpredictable weather taking over the continent.
“I don’t think any country or municipality is really prepared.” Vandecasteele said. “On a social level as well, people are just not used to the heat. People in hot countries know to stay out of the sun or to avoid a marathon when it’s 40 degrees outside. Here, people don’t know how to behave when it gets so hot, which is why education and awareness is so important.”
Aside from changing attitudes towards the heat, a long-term solution to reduce the overall intensity of a heatwave, according to Vandecasteele, would be changing infrastructure and increasing green spaces at a “massive” scale.
“Think about cooling a city the same way you think of cooling yourself. You wear lighter colours, allow a breeze," she said. "There is more water, more greenery – those are the same areas we need to focus on.”
Achieving this, however, would require a major coordinated effort by cities and governments across Europe, backed by EU-wide policies and long-term investment.
And while Vandecasteele described France as a "frontrunner" in climate change adaptation, she said that the recent heatwave once again hammered home the sheer scale of the challenge the world is facing.
“That’s actually more worrying," she said. "If a country that is already doing so much is suffering so intensely, it tells you how urgent the situation is.”
English (US) · 