Perhaps never before has the impact of climate change been more noticeable. According to some experts, the extraordinary heatwave that Europe is currently experiencing could simply be a sign of things to come in the years to come. Climate change is not something new. However, its effects are worsening year after year, season after season, according to a statement from Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. As temperatures rise to new records across nations, shocking images are surfacing from the continent of wildfires.
According to the international health organization, there have been 1,700 heat-related deaths this year alone in Spain and Portugal. In a statement on Friday, Kluge stated that “during the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of high heat during prolonged heatwaves, frequently with concurrent wildfires.” Surprisingly, the wildfires have spread all the way to Scandinavia. This week, there have been damages to around 40 residences in London. For the first time, temperatures in the United Kingdom exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.
“Exposure to extreme heat frequently makes pre-existing medical issues worse. Premature mortality and suffering are brought on by heatstroke and other severe forms of hyperthermia, which is an unusually high body temperature. The most recent WHO statement advises that those at either end of the life spectrum—infants, children, and the elderly—are particularly at danger.
A news source said that excessive red heat warnings had been issued for at least 16 cities in Italy.
Wildfires are said to have destroyed up to 40,000 hectares of woodland in France.
