euro|topics - Extreme weather as a harbinger of global warming

Main focus of Monday, July 30, 2007

Extreme weather as a harbinger of global warming

A summer of extreme weather is testing the endurance of Europeans, with sweltering temperatures and forest fires in the South and floods in the North. Commentators and experts see the extreme weather conditions as a clear sign of global warming, which is still not being taken seriously. They discuss its consequences.

Népszabadság - Hungary

Hungary has been particularly hard hit by the heat wave in Southeast Europe. 500 people died within a week as a result of record temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius in the shade. Physicist Miklós Zágoni lashes out at Hungarian journalists for trying to reassure the nation that the heat wave is not evidence of global warming: "The last heat record in Hungary was back in 1904 and last week temperatures beat that record by over 2.5 degrees. One newspaper wrote that 'it hasn't been this hot here for a hundred years'. But this doesn't mean such temperatures were more frequent back then than nowadays... When records are broken too often in sport, people suspect doping. The climate's dope is called carbon dioxide and the fact is there hasn't been this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for a million years." (30/07/2007)

Gândul - Romania

Last week the Romanian government declared a state of emergency in several areas of the country owing to record temperatures. These have been soaring for weeks, sometimes reaching 41 degrees Celsius. So far more than 30 people have died and over 10,000 have had to receive medical attention. Adrian Cercelescu reports: "Shops selling electronic appliances are registering record sales of air conditioners and city dwellers are drinking water so fast that supermarkets can no longer keep up with the demand and farmers are digging for water as if it were oil... What are we going to do about the country's agricultural sector, now that 60 percent of the harvest is already ruined and total crop failure is likely? There are two solutions: either we change our technology or switch to growing kiwis and bananas... Or we could just forget about agriculture altogether and focus on tourism instead! Let's put down our hoes, wear sun hats as the health ministry advises and flee to the sea." (30/07/2007)

Vasabladet - Finland

According to Dennis Rundt, the floods in the UK and Sweden are no coincidence but a result of global warming. He points out that the heavy rains in the North and the heat in the South of Europe tally with the predictions of climate researchers. "Initially people were saying Northern Europe could benefit from a warmer climate, among other things because of the greater yields in forestry. But now we can see that the negative impact outweighs the benefits. The floods in the UK have already cost over 2.5 billion pounds and the heat in Southern Europe could lead to long-term migration to the north. The greenhouse gas emissions that trigger global warming must therefore be reduced. At the same time we must prepare ourselves for the consequences of these changes." (30/07/2007)

The Daily Telegraph - United Kingdom

The daily is not impressed by the government or its quango, the Environment agency, which it considers could have done a better job anticipating the floods that devastated large parts of Britain last week. "Minutes leaked over the weekend reveal that throughout 2006 and 2007 the Agency did warn that flood defences were inadequate - but that there was little sense of urgency in its dialogue with ministers. Indeed, so unmoved was the then Environment Secretary David Miliband by the warnings that he ordered a 14 million pounds cut in the Agency's budget. The Agency responded by sending a letter to Mr Miliband to 'express concern'. This is disaster planning at its most dangerously blasé and stands in contrast to the heroic efforts of those who have had to deal with the floods. ... " (30/07/2007)

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