With the registration month after month of record high temperatures, as well as with more and more extreme weather events such as heat, floods, landslides and drought, the consequences of global warming are coming to light, writes the European Newsroom (ENR) - a platform for cooperation between 21 European information agencies, among which is BTA. What is the current situation in Europe and how does the EU plan to deal with it?
July 22, 2024 was the hottest day in recent history on planet Earth, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Office. (C3S) of the European Union. According to C3S, in the last few decades, Europe has been warming much faster than the world average, more specifically, twice as fast, writes BTA.
This is due to a combination of various factors, C3S director Carlo Buontempo said in an interview with the Slovenian news agency STA on Monday. One of them is that the Arctic, part of which falls within the borders of Europe, is probably one of the fastest warming regions in the world. Among other reasons is the reduced accumulation of ice and snow in the mountains as well as in the plains of Central Europe.
Heat waves in Europe are now more frequent, more intense and will last longer. "So it's something we have to get used to,” says Buontempo.
The EU's civil protection mechanism is gearing up for the summer
The European Commission expects another atypical summer for the European Union with extreme weather events, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic told the Portuguese news agency LUZA in the middle of this month.
At a time when southern Europe is facing the prospect of high temperatures, and central and northern Europe – ahead of a string of rainy days, the Slovenian commissioner said civil protection services were prepared through the disaster response mechanism.
Although civil protection is a national competence, public authorities can request support through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in emergency situations. All 27 EU Member States, plus ten non-EU countries, participate in the Facility, which was established in 2001. The EU Emergency Response Coordination Center helps deal with requests for assistance.
For this summer, the EU has created a dedicated air fleet of 28 firefighting aircraft and four helicopters in ten member states. In addition, the European Commission has allocated €600 million from EU funds to support the purchase of twelve more aircraft, which will be distributed among six bloc countries.
Extreme weather events in Europe are intensifying
All over the continent, heatwaves and subsequent fires threaten people, their livelihoods, animals and crops, often causing damage worth millions of euros and at the same time affecting people's everyday lives.
At the end of July, a "orange code" was announced for all Spanish regions, with the exception of the Canary Islands. This means “significant danger” on the scale of anxiety levels – due to high temperatures or storms, with warnings issued that maximum temperatures will reach 39-40 degrees according to the Spanish weather service AEMET.
On Monday, the mercury on the thermometer in southern France jumped as a result of a heat wave. The French Meteorological Service "Meteo-France" announced that in much of southern France "the heat will intensify significantly” and in some areas the limit of 40 degrees may be exceeded.
Paris is currently hosting the Olympic Games, with venues located across the country. On Monday, Paris announced it was activating the heat wave plan in the Ile-de-France region, where "air conditions will be poor". according to the "Erparif" observatory. The regional plan includes handing out more than 2.5 million water bottles on public transport and "almost 200,000 hats, fans and water bottles” of the spectators of the Olympic Games.
While northern Italy has been hit by storms and torrential rains that have caused floods and landslides in recent weeks, severe drought is expected in the south of the country. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Matteo Salvini declared the severe drought in Sicily a “state of emergency on a national scale”.
Last week, the National Association of Agricultural Water Boards (ANBI) warned that in three weeks "there will be no water for agriculture” in central and southern Italy.
Protests against poor water supply are intensifying in Sicily. The drought has led to a 60 percent drop in water reservoirs, prompting local authorities to impose a water curfew in Sicily's capital city of Palermo, as well as in 50 other municipalities.
Last year, Slovenia was hit by major floods that caused billions of euros worth of damage, and is still dealing with recovery efforts. Also this summer, torrential rains caused floods and landslides in the most affected regions. However, the lack of rainfall caused a forest fire in the southwestern municipality of Kras in mid-July – the same region that in 2022 was affected by the most devastating fires in Slovenia's history.
In Bulgaria, the heat in recent weeks has also led to fires: since July 12, more than 1,430 people and about 280 units of military equipment have participated in extinguishing fires throughout the country. On July 16, Bulgaria sought support through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and aid arrived from Spain, France and the Czech Republic. The government is working on compensation schemes for those affected and farmers who have lost their crops, and plans to amend the public procurement law to facilitate the purchase of specialist equipment needed for disaster management.
On July 17, North Macedonia requested emergency help to fight the severe forest fires through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism – help came from Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia and Romania. Between January and June, 73 forest fires broke out in the country. For 2023, North Macedonia has recorded 170 forest fires, according to Kire Mihailov, deputy head of the State Forestry Enterprise.
In July, neighboring Albania experienced a heat wave and battled forest fires in its south, also receiving aid – from Greece, within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The heat also led to taking measures to distribute drinking water in sites of cultural and historical heritage.
Greece itself is also currently experiencing fires. The second-largest island of Evia has been battling a forest fire since Monday, with hundreds of firefighters on the scene.
"We also have a very difficult month ahead of us – August, and obviously we all have to be constantly on guard,”, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told ministers ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
Climate change: causing premature death and failure to adapt is a “violation of human rights”
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that if no action is taken against climate change, four of its worst effects – extreme weather events, poor air quality, food insecurity and infectious diseases – will worsen, leading to an additional 250,000 premature deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimates that heatwaves are the deadliest weather phenomenon linked to climate change, causing 489,000 deaths annually. However, the actual death toll associated with extreme weather events could be 30 times higher, as many countries lack reliable data, the WMO fears.
On July 25, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said climate change is making work harder and more dangerous for billions of people.
Although the proportion of people exposed to excessive heat at work in Europe and Central Asia is low by world standards, it has increased more there than in any other region of the world over the past 20 years, the ILO also said.< /p>
In a report published by "Oxfam France" earlier in July, the NGO ruled that at least 26 out of 50 fundamental rights, such as health, access to education or the right to adequate housing, were at risk in France due to "state negligence" in adapting to climate change.