The waves of hellish heat that hit Europe were compared to “silent killers”

In connection with the sweltering heat that has gripped southern Europe, health warnings have been issued by the authorities. Tourists suffer and fall unconscious in Greece and Italy, and near Milan, a worker died due to intense heat, exacerbated by carbon dioxide air pollution.

Rampant heat caused by carbon dioxide pollution is plaguing southern Europe, posing serious health risks for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

The scorching heat has already hit several countries, with local media reporting tourists fainting in Greece and Italy, and the death of an outdoor worker near Milan. Temperatures are expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius in Athens on Saturday, 41 degrees Celsius in Seville on Monday and 40 degrees Celsius in Rome on Tuesday.

An area of ​​high pressure called “Cerberus,” named after the three-headed dog in Dante Alighieri’s poem “Inferno,” brought hot air from Africa to Europe. Warm air, which contains more moisture than cold air, can lead to hot and dry conditions in some areas, as well as heavy rain and flash flooding in others.

Climate warming is making these extreme events more severe and more common, says Alvaro Silva of the World Meteorological Organization: “By 2050, about half of Europe’s population could face high or very high risk of heat stress in summer.”

Since the industrial revolution, the temperature of the planet has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius due to heat-trapping gases released by fossil fuels and the destruction of nature. In Europe, temperatures have risen almost twice as fast.

El Niño, a natural weather phenomenon that has returned after a three-year hiatus, is expected to further increase temperatures this year. The first few days of July were the hottest ever recorded by scientists.

The scale of the role played by the climate crisis can only be appreciated after the extreme weather event has ended. A World Weather Attribution study in May found that due to climate change, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Algeria are at least 100 times more likely to experience high temperatures in the previous month.

Across the European continent, doctors, scientists and officials are urging people to take extra care in the heat. In Spain, the Red Cross has advised people near wildfires to stay at home and close their windows. In Greece, volunteers have been handing out bottles of water at tourist spots, and authorities have taken the unusual step of briefly closing the Acropolis to “protect” visitors.

The decision to close Hellas’ main tourist site for five hours from noon came after the Greek government announced emergency measures to combat extreme temperatures. For the first time, a ban was introduced for people working in construction and delivery during the hottest hours of the day. In Athens, where the city’s heat islands keep temperatures high even at night, public and private sector employees have been advised to work remotely. The wind did not offer much hope for a respite, as the first of many terrible forest fires broke out on the Aegean island of Naxos.

According to José Valencia-Martin, a doctor and public health expert at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Spain, the number of hospitalizations increases as temperatures rise. “Preventing and combating the effects of increasingly frequent, prolonged and intense heatwaves is a challenge.”

Heatwaves are often referred to as “silent killers” because most deaths are not included in official statistics. A small proportion of deaths are due to heat stroke and dehydration. Many others are due to hot weather that interferes with the normal functioning of the body, especially in people with an underlying medical condition.

“We can all be heat victims,” says Ana Visedo-Cabrera, head of the climate and health research group at the University of Bern. “That doesn’t mean that the heat will only kill us if we work in the field at 40 degrees Celsius. If you are a weak person exposed to high temperatures, your chances of being hospitalized or dying increase.”

A study released on Monday showed more than 61,000 people died in the summer heat in Europe last year. Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal have been hardest hit. Most often, women and the elderly died.

In addition to record-breaking hot days, scientists are also warning of nights too warm for the body to recover.

Hot nights expose the body to prolonged heat stress and reduce sleep, says Dominique Roye, a public health expert at the Climatic Research Foundation in Madrid. “We put a lot of emphasis on the highs but forget about the lows.”

Tropical nights have doubled or even tripled in most parts of southern Europe, Roye said, setting new thresholds for “hellish” nights with lows above 30 degrees Celsius.

Cities that have learned to cope with the heat have managed to reduce the number of deaths from sudden temperature changes. Some have lowered temperatures in the cities themselves by adding more green spaces. Others have developed fire action plans and early warning systems to train citizens and emergency services.

To stay safe, people should drink water, avoid direct sun exposure, wear light clothing and wear sunscreen, according to José Valencia-Martin.