Record-breaking heat in May – is Europe prepared?
Western Europe is currently in the grip of an unusually early heatwave. In France and the UK, meteorologists have recorded new record temperatures for the month of May, with highs of up to 36 degrees Celsius. In some parts of Spain, temperatures have soared to 40 degrees, and there have already been several heat-related deaths. Commentators point to past failures and warn of what lies ahead.
UK not built to handle extremes
The UK is not equipped to deal with such high temperatures, says The Guardian:
“The temperature exceeded 40C for the first time in the UK during the baking summer of 2022, which resulted in the early deaths of more than 3,000 people. Network Rail issued a 'do not travel' warning at the peak of the heat, while thousands of homes in the north of the country lost power. ... Now imagine this level of heat lasting for a week or more. ... Our country is not built to handle such heat and its all-pervasive ramifications. More than nine in 10 homes are not well insulated enough to keep out the heat, while by 2050 there is forecast to be a daily shortfall in water supply of 5bn litres.”
Little protection against such temperatures
Público has a bad feeling about the approaching summer:
“In 2022, Lisbon ranked seventh among European cities most affected by heatwaves. ... And more than a fifth (22 percent) of its residents complained that they did not have the financial means to cope with either low or high temperatures. ... This heat, which is doing us so much good today, is the same heat that will close schools, melt roads, cripple mobile networks and make our homes even more uncomfortable places to live tomorrow.”
Macron's greatest failure
Mediapart takes France's president to task for an ineffective climate strategy:
“The policies aimed at combating climate change and adapting to the irreversible consequences of a world that is 2 degrees Celsius hotter have been and remain one of Emmanuel Macron's major failures. When he was elected in 2017, two years after the Paris Climate Agreement was signed, the young president completely missed the opportunity to bring about a climate transition. Although the right words were spoken ('Make our planet great again'), the Élysée failed to undertake any serious or ambitious measures to decarbonise the country and set it on the path towards a form of climate justice. ... Emmanuel Macron has had neither a vision nor a strategy, nor any lasting success.”
The new reality of summer
Le Quotidien voices concern for future generations:
“This is what our summers now look like: sunshine with bearable temperatures, and then suddenly, for one, two or three weeks, once or twice a summer, heatwaves that force people to stay indoors or seek relief in air-conditioned rooms. This new type of summer is only just beginning for us, and it will get worse from year to year. Fifty years ago, people looked forward to the summer, and they still do today, albeit with a certain amount of anxiety about the possibility of extreme weather. But tomorrow – what frame of mind will our children be in when they see the days inexorably getting longer and longer?”