Europe’s extreme June heat clearly linked to climate change, research shows

“Scientists say that global warming has increased the likeliness of heatwaves causing deadly forest fires in Portugal and soaring temperatures in England by ten times.”

New research shows that human-caused climate change has dangerously increased the possibility of the extreme heatwave that saw significant forest fires flaming in Spain and Portugal.

Global warming also caused increased likeliness of high temperatures that sweltered much of western Europe including England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, earlier in June. Unless we cut carbon emissions, such temperatures will become the norm by 2050.

Using refined computer models scientists calculated how much the global rise in greenhouse gases has raised the chances of the soaring temperatures.

According to them, the heatwave that struck Spain and Portugal were ten times more likely to occur due to global warming. 1.500 people in Spain had to evacuate because of forest blazes and 64 people in Portugal died due to forest fires.

Emergency heatwave plans were triggered in France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, the intense heat was made four times more probable in central England where occurred the hottest day since 1976.

An international coalition of scientists that calculates the role of climate change in extreme weather events, World Weather Attribution (WAA), carried out the analysis. Geert Jan van Oldenborgh said:“We found clear and strong links between June’s record warmth and human-caused climate change,” at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and part of WWA.

Friederike Otto at Oxford University said:“Heat can be deadly – especially for the very young and the elderly.” “This extreme event attribution study makes clear that European heatwaves have become more frequent, and in the South of Europe at least ten times more common. It is crucial that cities work with scientists and public health specialists to create heat action plans. Climate change is affecting communities right now, and these plans save lives.”

UK ministers were warned on Thursday by government’s official climate change advisers that their rejection to provide new buildings are designed to deal with high temperatures could see annual heat-related deaths more than triple to 7,000 by 2040.

Robert Vautard said:“Hot months are no longer rare in our current climate,” at the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in France. “By the midpoint of the century, this kind of excessive heat in June will become the norm in western Europe if we don’t take urgent steps to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.”