Category Archives: Extreme heat

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds

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Greatest damage from heat, drought and flooding done in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria

The violent weather that battered Europe this summer caused short-term economic losses of at least €43bn, according to an EU-wide estimate, with costs expected to rise to €126bn by 2029.

The immediate hit to the economy from a single brutal summer of heat, drought and flooding amounted to 0.26% of the EU’s economic output in 2024, according to the rapid analysis, which has not been submitted for peer review but is based on relationships between weather and economic data that were published in an academic study this month.

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Climate change kills, Spanish PM tells deniers at launch of plan to tackle crisis

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Pedro Sánchez says country’s deadly August wildfires show society needs to mobilise and take immediate action

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate emergency, warning: “If we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s grey from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener.”

Sánchez said August’s heatwave-fuelled wildfires – which killed four people, burned through an area six times the size of Ibiza and required “the biggest human and technical deployment” ever seen in Spain – showed that immediate action must be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

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Deforestation has killed half a million people in past 20 years, study finds

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Localised rises in temperature caused by land clearance cause 28,330 heat-related deaths a year, researchers find

Deforestation has killed more than half a million people in the tropics over the past two decades as a result of heat-related illness, a study has found.

Land clearance is raising the temperature in the rainforests of the Amazon, Congo and south-east Asia because it reduces shade, diminishes rainfall and increases the risk of fire, the authors of the paper found.

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Heatwave that fuelled deadly wildfires was Spain’s ‘most intense on record’

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Country’s weather agency says 10-day period from 8-17 August was hottest since at least 1950, as fires still rage

A 16-day heatwave Spain suffered this month was “the most intense on record”, the country’s state meteorological agency (AEMET) has said.

Provisional readings for the 3-18 August heatwave exceeded the last record, set in July 2022, and showed an average temperature 4.6C higher than for previous such phenomena, the agency said on X.

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Californians brace for worst multiday heatwave of the year

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Temperatures are expected to spike with a trio of heat, thunderstorms and fire risks compounding dangers

Californians are bracing for the first major heatwave of the year, a multiday scorcher that could bring triple-digit temperatures, pose significant threats to public health and sharply heighten wildfire risks.

After a notably cooler summer, temperatures are expected to spike across the American south-west starting on Wednesday and extending through the weekend, as severe conditions expand north along the coast into British Columbia by the end of the week.

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‘Hellish’: heatwave brings hottest nights on record to the Middle East

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Temperatures did not drop below 36C in Sedom, Israel on Tuesday night, while several parts of Jordan stayed above 35C on Monday

Jordan and Israel have suffered through their hottest nights on record, with nocturnal temperatures in the Levant well above levels that scientists consider “hellish”.

Temperatures on Monday night did not go below 35C (95F) in Ghor es-Safi and Aqaba in Jordan, while in the capital, Amman, they stayed above 31.8C.

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‘No country is safe’: deadly Nordic heatwave supercharged by climate crisis, scientists say

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Historically cool nations saw hospitals overheating and surge in drownings, wildfires and toxic algal blooms

The prolonged Nordic heatwave in July was supercharged by the climate crisis and shows “no country is safe from climate change”, scientists say.

Norway, Sweden and Finland have historically cool climates but were hit by soaring temperatures, including a record run of 22 days above 30C (86C) in Finland. Sweden endured 10 straight days of “tropical nights”, when temperatures did not fall below 20C (68F).

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Thousands evacuated in Spain amid deadly wildfires and new heatwave

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Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe

Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.

The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.

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‘Unprecedented’ wildfire burns area size of Paris in southern France

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Advancing blaze scorches 16,000 hectares near Spanish border, destroying homes and forcing people to flee

Hundreds of firefighters are battling to stop the spread of a fast-moving wildfire in southern France after one woman died and nine people were injured as the blaze scorched a vast area of the Corbières hills.

The blaze burned an area the size of Paris over one afternoon and night and was still burning on Wednesday evening, making it the second biggest fire in France in 50 years.

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Eastern US swelters from heatwave as high temperatures affect half of country

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Heat and humidity are stretching east from the Mississippi River valley, and some areas could see heat indices of 120F

The eastern half of the US is facing a significant heatwave, with more than 185 million people under warnings due to intense and widespread heat conditions on Monday.

The south-east is likely to endure the most dangerous temperatures as the extreme heat spread across the region on Monday, spanning from the Carolinas through Florida. In these areas, heat index values (how hot it feels once humidity is accounted for) are forecast to range between 105 and 113F (40.5 to 45C).

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Weather tracker: Cooldown in sight for south-east Europe after scorching heatwave

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Refreshing northerly airmass to bring abrupt end to extreme heat, offering respite for residents and firefighters

After enduring a relentless stretch of searing temperatures, relief is finally in sight for south-east Europe. The Balkans, which have been scorched by a brutal heatwave over recent weeks, have seen daily maximum temperatures soar, culminating in a peak on Saturday with widespread temperatures of 40C (104F) and above across Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria and neighbouring regions.

Turkey also suffered, with a scorching 50.5C (122.9F) recorded in Silopi on Friday, the country’s all-time highest maximum temperature. Now these places are set to experience a dramatic cooldown as a refreshing northerly airmass is moving in, bringing an abrupt end to the extreme heat and offering much-needed respite.

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Thousands in Greece and Turkey evacuate as winds and heat fan wildfires

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Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft join rescue effort in Greece, and firefighter among those killed in Turkey

Thousands of people in Greece and Turkey have been forced to evacuate homes as firefighters in the countries battled to contain wildfires fanned by strong winds and searing heat.

As temperatures in south-eastern Europe exceeded 40C for a seventh straight day, the Greek prime minister praised rescue workers for waging “a titanic battle” to bring blazes under control.

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EU urged to build stockpiles to prepare for pandemic, natural disaster or invasion

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European Commission unveils strategy for storing food, medicine, generators and raw materials

The EU should develop stockpiles of food, medicine, generators and raw materials to be better prepared for a military invasion, pandemic or natural disaster, the European Commission has said.

Outlining its first-ever strategy on stockpiling, the EU executive said on Wednesday member states should also consider emergency supplies of water purification products, equipment to repair undersea cables, drones and mobile bridges for use in conflicts.

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Marseille airport cancels all flights as wildfire encroaches on city

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Authorities urge residents to stay indoors and say more than 700 firefighters battling blaze

A fast-moving wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has been raging on the outskirts of France’s second-largest city, Marseille, officials said, as firefighters around the Mediterranean battle blazes sparked by an intense heatwave.

“The fire is on the fringes of Marseille,” the regional prefect, Georges-François Leclerc, told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the blaze was not yet stable or contained, but the situation appeared to be “under control”.

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Wimbledon opening day hottest on record as temperatures soar

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Temperatures set to climb to 34C across much of England in one of hottest June days ever

This year’s Wimbledon tennis championships have begun with the hottest opening day on record, according to the Met Office.

Temperatures reached a provisional high of 29.7C (85.5F) at Kew Gardens in west London on Monday afternoon, surpassing the previous record of 29.3C set in June 2001.

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Amber heat alert issued across England with warning of ‘rise in deaths’

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UKHSA warns of risk to people aged 65 and over as temperatures of up to 33C expected until Monday

Amber heat alerts have been issued in England as the UK experiences its hottest day of the year so far, with a temperature of 30.8C recorded at Wisley in Surrey.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the warningd on Thursday, and stated there could be “a rise in deaths” across all nine English regions, with “those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions” particularly at risk as the temperature is expected to rise sharply.

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Weather tracker: Europe and China in midst of record-breaking heat

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Temperatures over 40C recorded in Portugal and Spain, while China endures heatwave conditions in high 40s

Temperature records for early June are being broken across large parts of Europe, with the mercury reaching 40.5C (104.9F) in Mértola, Portugal, on Sunday. On the same day, several weather stations in Spain recorded temperatures in excess of 42C, with dozens of sites at record levels for early summer. Across the Balkans, temperatures reached 37C. On Monday, 37.6C was recorded in Tirana, Albania, while in Greece night-time minimum temperatures have stayed mostly over 30C for much of this week.

Hot conditions are to intensify across central and western Europe over the next few days, with temperatures across large parts of France, Benelux, Italy and west Germany expected to reach the low to mid 30s celsius. Highs of up to 35C are expected in Paris on Friday, with up to 38C forecast in Rome. Conditions will ease somewhat, but a heatwave will soon develop across Iberia, with Madrid expected to reach the high-30s celsius each day next week.

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UK must consider food and climate part of national security, say top ex-military figures

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Former army and navy leaders urge government to think beyond military capability in advance of key defence review

Former military leaders are urging the UK government to widen its definition of national security to include climate, food and energy measures in advance of a planned multibillion-pound boost in defence spending.

Earlier this year Keir Starmer announced the biggest increase in defence spending in the UK since the end of the cold war, with the budget rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – three years earlier than planned – and an ambition to reach 3%.

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Intense heatwave in southern Brazil forces schools to suspend return

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Record highs delay start of classes in Rio Grande do Sul, where floods linked to climate crisis left 180 dead last May

During historic floods last May that left more than 180 dead in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, the water rose to the ceiling of the Olindo Flores school in the city of São Leopoldo, destroying furniture, books and parts of its infrastructure.

When classes resumed more than a month later, its 500 students had to be relocated to another school for months.

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Hot nights expected in southern Australian states as heatwave sweeps east

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‘Prolonged period of oppressive heat’ could push temperatures to mid 40C in South Australia, and mid 30C in Melbourne and Hobart

A heatwave marked by high humidity and hot nights will hit southern Australia next week as heat that baked western parts of the country moves east.

The period of intense heat for southern and central Australia is forecast to begin from Monday and last until Thursday, with South Australia, southern parts of the Northern Territory and far western parts of Queensland bearing the brunt.

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