Scientists: The heat is getting worse in Europe to the point that the human body cannot deal with it

Europe is witnessing a record rise in cases of “severe heat stress” that is harmful to health, according to scientists, which means that the human body cannot deal with it, especially with the expectation that this rise will continue to worsen.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Panel (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued the 2023 State of the European Climate Report, the results of which say that 2023 was the hottest year ever on the continent, and the average sea surface temperature was at its highest levels, Adverse health impacts associated with extreme weather and climate events are also on the rise.

“Some of the events of 2023 took the scientific community by surprise because of their intensity, speed of onset, extent and duration,” Carlo Pontimo, director of the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Panel, reportedly said.

Heat-trapping pollutants clogging the atmosphere helped push temperatures in Europe last year to the highest or second-highest levels ever recorded, according to the European Union's Earth Observing Service - Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization.

The joint State of the Climate report issued by the two organizations found that the death rate due to hot weather has risen by 30% in Europe over two decades.

Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world

The July 2023 heatwave pushed about 41% of southern Europe into strong, very strong or extreme heat stress, the largest area in Europe to experience such conditions on any day on record.

Extreme heat poses a particular risk to outdoor workers, the elderly and those with existing health conditions, and parts of Italy recorded 7% more deaths than usual at that time.

Heat stress measures the effect of the environment on the body to create a "how does it feel" response, by combining factors such as temperature, humidity and the body's response.

The year 2023 witnessed a record number of days that witnessed severe heat stress, with an increasing trend in the number of days that witnessed strong heat stress.

Heat-related deaths have increased by 30% over the past 20 years. It is expected that these trends will worsen.

“We only expect the intensity of extreme events to get worse,” noted Richard Allen, a climate scientist at the University of Reading. “We expect there to be sharper fluctuations between hot, dry and humid conditions.”

The report also found that the Alps have seen an "exceptional" loss of snow, much of Europe has seen below-average days with snowfall, and in an effort to become more sustainable, a record 43% of actual electricity generation is through renewables.

There was 7% more rainfall than average in 2023 as well.

Mauro Facchini, Head of the Earth Observation Unit at the European Commission's Directorate General for Defense Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) said: “The data presented in the European Climate Case are worrying but this research is also a vital tool in our goals of transitioning towards sustainable energy, and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect, and to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.