Europe swelters: how to live with heatwaves?
Another heatwave is making its way northwards from southern Europe at the moment. Spain and France are registering temperatures of more than 40 degrees, and Central Europe is also approaching these levels. Commentators discuss how society and the economy can adapt to such extreme weather conditions.
Local governments must get active
Taking the Spanish capital as an example, journalist María Ramírez criticises the inaction of local politicians in The Guardian:
“Madrid is among the worst offenders. Public cooling centres are almost nonexistent, and shopping centres remain the most common refuge. The capital's conservative regional and local governments have been passive or even hostile towards public demands to reduce dangerous heat levels in neighbourhoods, with too few green spaces and too many cars. ... The frustrating question is why our politicians are still shrugging off this reality, as though it were just an inconvenience. How many broken records and how many heatwave deaths will it take to change this?”
Heat-related deaths only come to light later
Heatwaves are far more deadly than people realise, warns climate expert Daniele Cat Berro in La Stampa:
“The extreme heat that currently has half of Europe in its grip is not 'just' a matter of temporary physical discomfort, crop losses, increased energy consumption for air conditioning in buildings or melting glaciers. Excessive heat is more deadly, in an insidious and silent way, than any other weather or climate catastrophe. A creeping mortality that only becomes visible after weeks or months, once health systems have had time to process the data on deaths from heat stroke, heart attacks, strokes and respiratory failure and correlate it with the observed climate trends and normal mortality rates.”
A self-inflicted hell
Le Quotidien looks at the causes and consequences:
“The vicious circle has been set in motion: heat waves, warming of the oceans, extreme rainfall. A second and equally destructive causal relation: heatwave, drought, wildfires spreading across hundreds of thousands of hectares and causing the evacuation of thousands of people. ... It must be emphasised that we are all to blame for the fact that Europe is on fire these days. And unfortunately, this will not be the last critical reflection on a phenomenon that will make our environment uninhabitable a few years from now, at the latest. Even our cities and land will no longer be habitable if they turn into torrential rivers on a regular basis.”
Summer in the south no longer à la mode
Holiday trends will change, Polityka predicts:
“Apart from the more temperate years of 2020 and 2021, five of the past seven summers have seen record temperatures in southern Europe. This could be the new normal that we all have to get used to given that global average temperatures are not falling but steadily rising. The Mediterranean region is warming at a rate that is a fifth faster than the rest of the world ... Travel agency customers are beginning to change their preferences. Italian data shows that the number of foreign tourists visiting the country outside the high season is growing. ... Perhaps an off-season holiday is not a bad idea when travelling to the hot south. It's not just about comfort but also common sense and safety.”
Society must reorganise to adjust
Adapting to high temperatures is becoming a Herculean task, Libération stresses:
“Those on holiday can stay in the shade, but people who work in construction, bars, restaurants, or in the fields are finding it increasingly hard to cope with the heat. Since these heatwaves are set to become the norm, society as a whole must reorganise. ... Starting with working hours and conditions. ... The French railway company SNCF decided to cancel trains in the south due to the heatwave, leaving thousands of people in the lurch. This gives us an an idea of the immense challenge that lies ahead for us and above all for future generations.”
Create more climate-adapted spaces
El País expresses concern about city dwellers facing extreme temperatures:
“Almost 80 percent of the Spanish population live in cities whose planning did not take into account that the heat might one day make them uninhabitable. ... The urban population is de facto living under house arrest. ... 33.6 percent of households, in particular low-income households, have no access to cooler temperatures in summer. The only alternative is shopping malls. We need a far bolder policy when it comes to establishing climate-adapted public spaces, which 36 of the 52 regional capitals lack. ... Any new urban project that does not take account of this new reality must be rejected from the outset.”
Sensible AC settings needed
Sitting in a café in Barcelona, editor Silvia Colomé complains about the cold rather than the heat in La Vanguardia:
“I'm writing this column wearing a cardigan and with goose bumps. ... Before my fingers freeze up, I keep asking myself the same question people often ask: do air conditioning systems really have to be set so low? The debate about air conditioning setting has been a key topic of conversation in lifts for some time now. ... Experts advise setting appliances to a maximum of six to eight degrees below room temperature to avoid a thermal shock. It's unusual for the body to go to this extreme, but lots of people are suffering from colds and sore throats at the moment. A little cool air is of course welcome, but in moderation, for our own good and to minimise the impact on the environment.”