UK breaches 40C for first time, heat records tumble in France
Western Europe continues to sweat under an intense heatwave: the mercury is rising on heat records across the region, Britain reaching 40C for the first time on Tuesday.
A punishing heatwave fuelling ferocious wildfires in western Europe pushed temperatures in Britain over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on Tuesday and regional heat records tumbled elsewhere.
After the UK's warmest night on record, the Met Office said a new high of 40.3C had been recorded at Coningsby in eastern England.
At least 29 locations in Britain beat the previous record of 38.7C set in Cambridge, eastern England, in 2019.
Experts blamed climate change for the soaring temperatures – and warned that worse is yet to come.
"They (heatwaves) are becoming more frequent and this negative trend will continue... at least until the 2060s, independent of our success in climate mitigation efforts," UN World Meteorological Organisation chief Petteri Taalas told reporters in Geneva.
"In the future these kinds of heatwaves are going to be normal, and we will see even stronger extremes."
The high temperatures have triggered an unprecedented red alert in much of England, where some rail lines were closed as a precaution and schools shuttered in some areas.
Grassland fires erupted on the edge of London, threatening nearby houses.
Meanwhile, all trains were cancelled from usually busy Kings Cross station, leaving many travellers stranded.
"It's a little frustrating," said US tourist Deborah Byrne, trying to reach Scotland.
But with road surfaces and runways melting and fears of rails buckling, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps conceded much of Britain's infrastructure "is just not built for this temperature."
Tim Wainwright, chief executive of the charity WaterAid, said it served as "the wake-up call the world needs to stop climate change from claiming any more lives."
In France, 64 different areas registered record high temperatures on Monday, the national weather service confirmed, most of them along the western Atlantic coast where temperatures also soared above 40C.
But the all-time high for mainland France, set in 2019 near Montpellier, of 46C did not appear under threat this week.
The heatwave – the second to engulf parts of Europe in recent weeks – has contributed to deadly wildfires in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, destroying vast tracts of land.
Firefighters in France's southwest were still struggling to contain two massive fires that have caused widespread destruction and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
Nearly 1,700 firefighters from all over the country, supported by significant air resources, are battling the two blazes that have so far burned more than 19,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of forest.
'Heartbreaking'
"It's heartbreaking," said Patrick Davet, mayor of La Teste-de-Buch, the site of one inferno which has prompted mass evacuations.
"Economically, it's going to be very difficult for them and very difficult for the town because we are a tourist town, and we need the (tourist) season."
In Brittany's Finistere region, hundreds of firefighters, specialised vehicles and waterbombing aircraft were tackling blazes.
In Greece, authorities called on residents in nine villages to evacuate out of the path of a fire north of Athens.
The Greek fire department said that, in the past 24 hours, it had dealt with 39 fire outbreaks across the country.
In Spain – nearly 10 days into the latest heatwave – more than a dozen fires continued to rage Tuesday, including in the northwest province of Zamora, which already experienced a huge fire last month.
Known as one of the largest wolf reserves in Europe, it saw nearly 30,000 hectares of land reduced to ashes during the June blaze.
Nearly 6,000 people had to be evacuated from there this week after flames destroyed several thousand hectares of meadows and forests, regional authorities said.
Rail traffic between Madrid and Galicia, in the northwest, remained suspended after fires on either side of the tracks.
Several people have died in recent days due to the blazes while separately, an office worker in his 50s died from heatstroke in Madrid.
In Portugal, nearly 2,000 firefighters were tackling fires in the centre and north of the country, buffeted by strong winds and a rise in temperature.
A forest fire in the Vila Real region in the far north of Portugal involved more than 800 firefighters and saw three villages evacuated.
Murca mayor Mario Artur Lopes said the fire, which began on Sunday, has devastated between 10,000 and 12,000 hectares of forest.
Wildfires in Portugal had already killed two other people and injured around 60.
'Major losses'
Elsewhere, the Netherlands recorded its third-highest temperature since records began -- 39.4C in the southern city of Maastricht, public broadcaster NOA said, quoting the national meteorological office.
Dutch authorities spread roads with salt in some areas to prevent the asphalt from melting and being damaged by the weight of vehicles.
In Amsterdam, council workers sprayed bridges over the famed canals with water to keep them cool, amid fears that steel in the structures could expand and prevent them opening to let boats pass.
Car parks at the beach in Scheveningen, near The Hague, were full by midday, and hundreds of beachgoers sheltered under the pier to escape the sun.
"It's just like a holiday in Majorca," said Norwegian tourist Ane Herber, 25.
In neighbouring Belgium, big state-run museums, primarily in Brussels, took the unusual step of offering free access Tuesday to over-65s to help them stay cool.
Two nuclear reactors located near Antwerp had to reduce their production power by more than half in order to limit the temperature of water discharged into nearby rivers.
In Germany, the hot summer so far has raised fears of drought, with the German Farmers' Association president warning of "major losses" in food production.
Henning Christ, who grows wheat and other crops in Brandenburg state, told AFP his farm was 20 percent below its average annual yield.
"We've had almost no rain for months, coupled with high temperatures," he said.
"We have become used to drought and dry periods to some extent, but this year has been very unusual."
by AFP / Joe Jackson
Western Europe continues to sweat under an intense heatwave: the mercury is rising on heat records across the region, Britain reaching 40C for the first time on Tuesday.
A punishing heatwave fuelling ferocious wildfires in western Europe pushed temperatures in Britain over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on Tuesday and regional heat records tumbled elsewhere.
After the UK's warmest night on record, the Met Office said a new high of 40.3C had been recorded at Coningsby in eastern England.
At least 29 locations in Britain beat the previous record of 38.7C set in Cambridge, eastern England, in 2019.
Experts blamed climate change for the soaring temperatures – and warned that worse is yet to come.
"They (heatwaves) are becoming more frequent and this negative trend will continue... at least until the 2060s, independent of our success in climate mitigation efforts," UN World Meteorological Organisation chief Petteri Taalas told reporters in Geneva.
"In the future these kinds of heatwaves are going to be normal, and we will see even stronger extremes."
The high temperatures have triggered an unprecedented red alert in much of England, where some rail lines were closed as a precaution and schools shuttered in some areas.
Grassland fires erupted on the edge of London, threatening nearby houses.
Meanwhile, all trains were cancelled from usually busy Kings Cross station, leaving many travellers stranded.
"It's a little frustrating," said US tourist Deborah Byrne, trying to reach Scotland.
But with road surfaces and runways melting and fears of rails buckling, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps conceded much of Britain's infrastructure "is just not built for this temperature."
Tim Wainwright, chief executive of the charity WaterAid, said it served as "the wake-up call the world needs to stop climate change from claiming any more lives."
In France, 64 different areas registered record high temperatures on Monday, the national weather service confirmed, most of them along the western Atlantic coast where temperatures also soared above 40C.
But the all-time high for mainland France, set in 2019 near Montpellier, of 46C did not appear under threat this week.
The heatwave – the second to engulf parts of Europe in recent weeks – has contributed to deadly wildfires in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, destroying vast tracts of land.
Firefighters in France's southwest were still struggling to contain two massive fires that have caused widespread destruction and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
Nearly 1,700 firefighters from all over the country, supported by significant air resources, are battling the two blazes that have so far burned more than 19,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of forest.
'Heartbreaking'
"It's heartbreaking," said Patrick Davet, mayor of La Teste-de-Buch, the site of one inferno which has prompted mass evacuations.
"Economically, it's going to be very difficult for them and very difficult for the town because we are a tourist town, and we need the (tourist) season."
In Brittany's Finistere region, hundreds of firefighters, specialised vehicles and waterbombing aircraft were tackling blazes.
In Greece, authorities called on residents in nine villages to evacuate out of the path of a fire north of Athens.
The Greek fire department said that, in the past 24 hours, it had dealt with 39 fire outbreaks across the country.
In Spain – nearly 10 days into the latest heatwave – more than a dozen fires continued to rage Tuesday, including in the northwest province of Zamora, which already experienced a huge fire last month.
Known as one of the largest wolf reserves in Europe, it saw nearly 30,000 hectares of land reduced to ashes during the June blaze.
Nearly 6,000 people had to be evacuated from there this week after flames destroyed several thousand hectares of meadows and forests, regional authorities said.
Rail traffic between Madrid and Galicia, in the northwest, remained suspended after fires on either side of the tracks.
Several people have died in recent days due to the blazes while separately, an office worker in his 50s died from heatstroke in Madrid.
In Portugal, nearly 2,000 firefighters were tackling fires in the centre and north of the country, buffeted by strong winds and a rise in temperature.
A forest fire in the Vila Real region in the far north of Portugal involved more than 800 firefighters and saw three villages evacuated.
Murca mayor Mario Artur Lopes said the fire, which began on Sunday, has devastated between 10,000 and 12,000 hectares of forest.
Wildfires in Portugal had already killed two other people and injured around 60.
'Major losses'
Elsewhere, the Netherlands recorded its third-highest temperature since records began -- 39.4C in the southern city of Maastricht, public broadcaster NOA said, quoting the national meteorological office.
Dutch authorities spread roads with salt in some areas to prevent the asphalt from melting and being damaged by the weight of vehicles.
In Amsterdam, council workers sprayed bridges over the famed canals with water to keep them cool, amid fears that steel in the structures could expand and prevent them opening to let boats pass.
Car parks at the beach in Scheveningen, near The Hague, were full by midday, and hundreds of beachgoers sheltered under the pier to escape the sun.
"It's just like a holiday in Majorca," said Norwegian tourist Ane Herber, 25.
In neighbouring Belgium, big state-run museums, primarily in Brussels, took the unusual step of offering free access Tuesday to over-65s to help them stay cool.
Two nuclear reactors located near Antwerp had to reduce their production power by more than half in order to limit the temperature of water discharged into nearby rivers.
In Germany, the hot summer so far has raised fears of drought, with the German Farmers' Association president warning of "major losses" in food production.
Henning Christ, who grows wheat and other crops in Brandenburg state, told AFP his farm was 20 percent below its average annual yield.
"We've had almost no rain for months, coupled with high temperatures," he said.
"We have become used to drought and dry periods to some extent, but this year has been very unusual."
by AFP / Joe Jackson
Flights halted out of UK air base after runway melts due to heat wave
Zach Schonfeld
Mon, July 18, 2022
Scorching heat in Britain led officials to shut down runways at an air base and a commercial airport in London on Monday.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) halted flights to its Brize Norton Base, located about 75 miles northwest of London in Oxfordshire, while London Luton Airport also announced it would also temporarily suspend flights.
“During this period of extreme temperature flight safety remains the RAF’s top priority, so aircraft are using alternative airfields in line with a long-established plan,” the Royal Air Force said in a statement. “This means there is no impact on RAF operations.”
Sky News reported that the runway at a separate RAF base in Lincolnshire had melted in the extreme heat last week.
At London Luton Airport, which largely serves low-cost carriers, airport officials said they identified a “surface defect” on the airport’s lone runway.
“Flights are temporarily suspended to allow for an essential runway repair after high surface temperatures caused a small section to lift,” the airport said in a statement.
Temperatures were forecasted to reach 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 degrees Fahrenheit, in parts of the country, which would break a 2019 record. British officials issued a “red extreme” heat warning for the first time in a large part of England.
Although the runway defects have only affected a small number of airports, the shakeup comes amid a turbulent moment for the airline industry.
This summer has seen a resurgence in demand for air travel, leaving airlines scrambling after cutting back on their staffing levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The situation has become particularly dire in Europe, where many workers have gone on strike and some airports have trimmed flight schedules. London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports were among some of the airports who recently asked airlines to cap their flight numbers.
France fires map: Where the French wildfires have hit as blazes also spread in Spain and Portugal
Temperatures have soared into the mid-40s in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France
July 18, 2022
As the UK braces for record temperatures – with the possibility of it passing 40ºC on Tuesday – mainland Europe is also experiencing a severe heatwave.
Temperatures have soared into the mid-40s in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France.
The heat has caused hundreds of deaths, and the fires have devastated hundreds of thousands of acres
The heatwave is expected to spread to Germany and Belgium in the coming days.
Where are the wildfires in France?
In France, wildfires had spread over 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) in the south-western region of Gironde.
More than 14,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, regional authorities said on Sunday afternoon, and officials have announced plans to evacuate an additional 3,500 people from towns threatened by raging flames.
Around 1,200 firefighters were trying to control the blazes, the authorities said in a statement.
The French Government issued red alerts, the highest possible, for several regions, with residents urged “to be extremely vigilant”.
Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Chavatte, from Gironde’s fire and rescue service, said firefighters faced a “Herculean job” to control the blazes.
Meanwhile, authorities in the French Alps have urged climbers bound for Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain, to postpone their trips due to repeated rock falls caused by “exceptional climatic conditions” and drought.
What about the rest of Europe?
Almost 600 heat-related deaths have been reported in Spain and Portugal, where temperatures reached 47ºC last week.
Spain was facing the eighth and final day of a more than week-long heatwave on Monday, which caused more than 510 heat-related deaths, according to estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute.
With fires burning thousands of hectares in Galicia, Castille and Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura and Andalusia, Spain mourned the death of one firefighter in the north-western province of Zamora on Sunday evening. Almost the entire country faces a extreme fire risk.
“There are never words to thank the immense work of those who fight the fires tirelessly,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday night in a message of condolence via Twitter.
More than 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) have burnt in Spain so far this year, the worst year of the past decade, according to official data.
Last month, a huge wildfire in Sierra de la Culebra, Castille and Leon, ravaged about 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land.
In Portugal, temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high across most of the country, according to the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology
More than 1,000 firefighters, backed by 285 vehicles and 14 aircraft, were battling nine ongoing wildfires, mainly in the country’s northern regions, authorities said.
'Apocalypse': Hundreds dead as extreme heat wave broils Europe; UK could break record
Doyle Rice
Wales reported its hottest temperature on record Monday of 95.5 degrees.
British authorities have described the heat wave as a "national emergency."
In France, heat records were broken and swirling hot winds complicated firefighting in the country’s southwest.
An extreme heat wave that meteorologists call an "apocalypse" broiled much of Europe and the United Kingdom on Monday, and hundreds of people died because of record high temperatures and ferocious wildfires.
At least 748 heat-related deaths have been reported in the heat wave in Spain and neighboring Portugal, where temperatures reached 117 degrees this month.
Wales reported its hottest temperature on record Monday of 95.5 degrees, the U.K. Met Office said.
All-time heat in Britain?
The U.K.'s high-temperature record is in jeopardy this week, AccuWeather said. The record stands at 102 degrees from the Cambridge Botanic Garden on July 25, 2019. Although that record was not broken Monday, it could be surpassed Tuesday, meteorologists said.
British authorities described the heat wave as a "national emergency" and portions of the nation are under an “extreme” heat warning for the first time.
In Britain and most of Europe, few homes, apartments, schools or small businesses have air conditioning, making residents vulnerable.
"Extreme heat can be dangerous to human health," said Eunice Lo, a climate scientist at the University of Bristol. "On average, about 2,000 extra deaths in England are related to heat waves each year. It is important to stay hydrated, stay indoors or under shade and check on friends and family during a heat wave."
At least four people were reported to have drowned across the U.K. in rivers, lakes and reservoirs while trying to cool off.
KEEP YOUR COOL:As heat wave impacts millions, here's how to stay safe
"Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway,” Luton Airport said in a statement. “Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as quickly as possible. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused.”
HEAT DOME: Record-high temperatures from heat dome affect millions
Blistering heat in Switzerland
The heat is also intense in mostly un-air-conditioned Switzerland, where Geneva resident Michelle Levesque said that in her apartment, her shades are down, the windows are closed, and the fans are on. "It makes me hate summer," she said. "I'm looking forward to September."
The high in Geneva on Monday was a blistering 98 degrees.
Unrelenting wildfires
In France, heat records were broken, and swirling hot winds complicated firefighting in the country’s southwest.
“It never stops,” David Brunner, one of 1,500 firefighters battling to control a wildfire in France, told The Guardian. “In 30 years of firefighting, I have never seen a fire like this.”
Authorities evacuated towns, moving 14,900 people Monday from areas that could find themselves in the path of the fires and choking smoke. More than 31,000 people have been forced from their homes and summer vacation spots in the Gironde region of France since the wildfires began July 12.
Is climate change to blame for the heat wave?
Scientists said heat waves are more intense, more frequent and longer because of climate change.
“Climate change is driving this heat wave, just as it is driving every heat wave now," said Friederike Otto, a scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College in London. "Greenhouse gas emissions, from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, are making heat waves hotter, longer-lasting and more frequent.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEAT:
Climate change's fingerprints on ever hotter heatwaves
Doyle Rice
Wales reported its hottest temperature on record Monday of 95.5 degrees.
British authorities have described the heat wave as a "national emergency."
In France, heat records were broken and swirling hot winds complicated firefighting in the country’s southwest.
An extreme heat wave that meteorologists call an "apocalypse" broiled much of Europe and the United Kingdom on Monday, and hundreds of people died because of record high temperatures and ferocious wildfires.
At least 748 heat-related deaths have been reported in the heat wave in Spain and neighboring Portugal, where temperatures reached 117 degrees this month.
Wales reported its hottest temperature on record Monday of 95.5 degrees, the U.K. Met Office said.
All-time heat in Britain?
The U.K.'s high-temperature record is in jeopardy this week, AccuWeather said. The record stands at 102 degrees from the Cambridge Botanic Garden on July 25, 2019. Although that record was not broken Monday, it could be surpassed Tuesday, meteorologists said.
British authorities described the heat wave as a "national emergency" and portions of the nation are under an “extreme” heat warning for the first time.
In Britain and most of Europe, few homes, apartments, schools or small businesses have air conditioning, making residents vulnerable.
"Extreme heat can be dangerous to human health," said Eunice Lo, a climate scientist at the University of Bristol. "On average, about 2,000 extra deaths in England are related to heat waves each year. It is important to stay hydrated, stay indoors or under shade and check on friends and family during a heat wave."
At least four people were reported to have drowned across the U.K. in rivers, lakes and reservoirs while trying to cool off.
KEEP YOUR COOL:As heat wave impacts millions, here's how to stay safe
Airport runways are melting in the UK
The high temperatures affected airfields in Britain. London’s Luton Airport, which serves mostly low-cost airlines with flights to other countries in Europe, reported a runway defect around 4:30 p.m. local time on Monday afternoon. The airport’s operator said arriving flights were diverted and departures were suspended while repair work was done.
The high temperatures affected airfields in Britain. London’s Luton Airport, which serves mostly low-cost airlines with flights to other countries in Europe, reported a runway defect around 4:30 p.m. local time on Monday afternoon. The airport’s operator said arriving flights were diverted and departures were suspended while repair work was done.
"Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway,” Luton Airport said in a statement. “Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as quickly as possible. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused.”
HEAT DOME: Record-high temperatures from heat dome affect millions
Blistering heat in Switzerland
The heat is also intense in mostly un-air-conditioned Switzerland, where Geneva resident Michelle Levesque said that in her apartment, her shades are down, the windows are closed, and the fans are on. "It makes me hate summer," she said. "I'm looking forward to September."
The high in Geneva on Monday was a blistering 98 degrees.
Unrelenting wildfires
In France, heat records were broken, and swirling hot winds complicated firefighting in the country’s southwest.
“It never stops,” David Brunner, one of 1,500 firefighters battling to control a wildfire in France, told The Guardian. “In 30 years of firefighting, I have never seen a fire like this.”
Authorities evacuated towns, moving 14,900 people Monday from areas that could find themselves in the path of the fires and choking smoke. More than 31,000 people have been forced from their homes and summer vacation spots in the Gironde region of France since the wildfires began July 12.
Is climate change to blame for the heat wave?
Scientists said heat waves are more intense, more frequent and longer because of climate change.
“Climate change is driving this heat wave, just as it is driving every heat wave now," said Friederike Otto, a scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College in London. "Greenhouse gas emissions, from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, are making heat waves hotter, longer-lasting and more frequent.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEAT:
From the heat index to a heat dome to an excessive heat warning
"Heat waves that used to be rare are now common; heat waves that used to be impossible are now happening and killing people. We saw this with the Pacific Northwest heat wave last year, which would have been almost impossible without human-caused warming," Otto said.
Contributing: Zach Winter and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.
"Heat waves that used to be rare are now common; heat waves that used to be impossible are now happening and killing people. We saw this with the Pacific Northwest heat wave last year, which would have been almost impossible without human-caused warming," Otto said.
Contributing: Zach Winter and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.
JULY 18, 2022
As Europe sizzles, experts predict more to come. Increased frequency of heatwaves here to stay, and an undeniable symptom of climate change.
AN AERIAL PICTURE SHOWS THE FALLING WATER LEVEL AT WEIR WOOD RESERVOIR, NEAR CRAWLEY, SOUTHERN ENGLAND ON JULY 17, 2022. THE UK'S METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY ON FRIDAY ISSUED ITS FIRST EVER "RED" WARNING FOR EXCEPTIONAL HEAT, FORECASTING RECORD HIGHS OF 40 DEGREES CELSIUS NEXT WEEK. | AFP/LEAL DANIEL
Hotter, longer, more frequent. Heatwaves such as the one currently roasting much of Europe, or the record-shattering hot spell endured by India and Pakistan in March, are an unmistakable sign of climate change, experts said Monday.
CAPITALI$M
"Every heatwave that we are experiencing today has been made hotter and more frequent because of human induced climate change," said Friederike Otto, senior lecturer at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute for Climate Change.
"It's pure physics, we know how greenhouse gas molecules behave, we know there are more in the atmosphere, the atmosphere is getting warmer and that means we are expecting to see more frequent heatwaves and hotter heatwaves."
In recent years, advances in the discipline known as attribution science have allowed climatologists to calculate how much global heating contributes to individual extreme weather events.
The India-Pakistan heatwave, for example, was calculated to have been 30 times more likely with the more than 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming that human activity has caused since the mid-nineteenth century.
The heatwave that shattered records in North America in June 2021, leaving hundreds dead as temperatures soared to 50C in places, would have been virtually impossible without global heating.
And the last major European heatwave, in 2019, was made 3C hotter by climate change.
"The increase in the frequency, duration, and intensity of these events over recent decades is clearly linked to the observed warming of the planet and can be attributed to human activity," the World Meteorological Organisation said in a Monday statement
However unbearable temperatures get this week, scientists are unanimous: there is worse to come.
At 1.5C of warming – the most ambitious Paris climate agreement goal – UN climate scientists calculate that heatwaves will be more than four times more likely than the pre-industrial baseline.
At 2C or warming, that figure reaches 5.6 times more likely, and at 4C heatwaves will be nearly 10 times more likely to occur.
Despite three decades of UN-led negotiations, countries' climate plans currently put Earth on course to warm a "catastrophic" 2.7C, according to the UN.
Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Meteo-France, said that climate change was already influencing the frequency and severity of heatwaves.
"We're on the way to hotter and hotter summers, where 35C becomes the norm and 40C will be reached regularly," he said.
Danger of death
The heatwaves of the future depend largely on how rapidly the global economy can decarbonise.
The UN's climate science panel has calculated that 14 percent of humanity will be hit with dangerous heat every five years on average with 1.5C of warming, compared with 37 percent at 2C.
"In all of places in the world where we have data there is an increase in mortality risk when we are exposed to high temperatures," said Eunice Lo, a climate scientist at the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute for the Environment.
It's not only the most vulnerable people who are at risk of health impacts from heat, it's even the fit and healthy people who will be at risk."
There is a real risk in future of so-called "wet bulb" temperatures – where heat combines with humidity to create conditions where the human body cannot cool itself via perspiration – breaching lethal levels in many parts of the world.
As well as the imminent threat to human health, heatwaves compound drought and make larger areas vulnerable to wild fires, such as those now raging across parts of France, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Morocco.
They also menace the food supply.
India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, chose to ban grain exports after the heatwave impacted harvests, worsening a shortage in some countries prompted by Russia's invasion of key exporter Ukraine.
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