Climate change, caused by industry continuing to burn fossil fuels, is making heatwaves hotter and more frequent – a trend that, when combined with urban heat islands, poses risks including increased deaths from heat stress to vulnerable populations like the elderly.
“Vulnerability in Europe is also increasing due to the aging population, due to the more condensed cities. This is something that, with the combination of the heat waves, will become quite a risk for society in the future,” Kurnik said. The phenomenon has already been observed during temperature extremes. During an August 2003 heatwave, heat-related mortality in cities in the West Midlands area of Britain was twice as high as in local rural areas.
The EEA urged governments to introduce measures to lessen the heat island effect in cities, such as introducing more cooling green spaces and water. Some already are – such as the City of Paris’s program to transform 10 pilot schools’ grounds into cooler, greener spaces, with fountains and drought-resistant plants.
Kurnik said other measures could include bringing forward the start of school holidays to avoid teaching in intense heat – but that in general, while all EU countries now have some form of climate adaptation strategy, most have yet to turn them into concrete actions.
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