Study finds climate change intensified Europe's June heatwave

Human-caused climate change made this week's record-breaking European heatwave "unequivocally" more intense, according to a rapid analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group. 

The researchers said such extreme June temperatures would have been "virtually impossible" in the climate of 50 years ago.

Europe, the world's fastest-warming continent, has endured another week of extreme heat, with temperatures breaking records in several countries and tens of millions of people affected. 

The study, conducted by scientists from Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom, found that a similar heatwave would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler during the day in June 1976. Compared with the devastating European heatwave of 2003, daytime temperatures during a similar event today would still have been around 2 C lower.

"This event would not have been possible in June without climate change," lead author Theodore Keeping of Imperial College London told reporters.

The researchers said the findings are consistent with a planet that has already warmed about 1.4 C above pre-industrial levels, largely due to the burning of coal, oil, and gas. As global temperatures continue to rise, heatwaves have become more frequent and intense.

"The weather pattern itself is not particularly unusual, but the temperatures are – or at least they used to be, without human-induced climate change," said Friederike Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution and a scientist at Imperial College London.

The study also highlighted the growing health risks posed by extreme heat. Around 45 percent of the nearly 850 European cities analyzed had broken, or were expected to break, their June heat stress records during the current heatwave, highlighting how high temperatures and humidity can overwhelm the body’s natural cooling system, increasing the risk of illness and death.

"This made the heatwave particularly unpleasant and dangerous," Otto said.

The researchers concluded that El Niño played no role in the current heatwave, saying rapidly phasing out fossil fuels remains essential to limiting future warming and reducing the severity of extreme heat.

(With input from AFP)