European Heat Wave Killed Thousands In Disturbing Trend,, As Activists Refer To "Climate Breakdown." .

An attribution study says an early summer European 
heat wave was worsened by climate change and
killed thousands. Meanwhile, the world continues
to rack up more all time record heat waves this summer.

 A scientific group that does rapid analyses of extreme weather events to determine how climate change influenced the incidents concluded a late June and early July European heat wave killed thousands. 

Per the Guardian:

"Scientists estimate that high heat killed 2,300 people across 12 major cities as temperatures soared across Europe between June 23 and July 2.  They attributed 1,500 of the deaths to climate breakdown, which has heated the planet and made the worst extremes even hotter.

Milan was the hardest hit city in absolute terms, with 317 out of 499 heat deaths attributed to climate breakdown, followed by Paris and Barcelona. Long had 273 heat deaths, 171 of which the researchers attributed to attributed to human influence on the climate."

People have always died in heat waves, of course, but the study led by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that climate change made the heat wave worse than it otherwise would be. That added heat intensity had a disproportionate effect on deaths. 

Essentially, the scientists concluded the heat wave nearly tripled the number of deaths from heat. 

The study was part of a growing body of science called rapid attribution, which seeks to assess the cost and effects of climate-related weather events shortly after they happen. 

CLIMATE TERMINOLOGY

 As an aside, The Guardian is describing climate change in a new way that I haven't seen too much previously, but has gained a lot of use among activists in recent years: The term is  "climate breakdown"

Climate activist Greta Thunberg have the term its currency about six years ago when she said this:

"It's 2019. Can we all now please stop saying 'climate change' and instead call it what it is: climate breakdown climate crisis, climate emergency, ecological breakdown, ecological crisis and ecological emergency?"

2025 HEAT WAVES WIDESPREAD

Whatever it is, this is another summer when heat is clearly killing people, and so far, we arguably haven't had quite as many extreme heat waves as last year or the year before. But there's been plenty of horrible and sometimes deadly hot spells all over the world.  

Some example:

Finland finally just came out of its longest, most intense heat wave on record. This far northern, Scandinavian nation, endured three weeks in which daily highs were 86 degrees or higher.  

A town north of the Arctic Circle in Norway was also 86 degrees or warmer daily for almost two week. 

People who live in northern areas like Scandinavia can be especially prone to heat as it's historically uncommon there.  Nighttime heat combined with the fact it doesn't really get dark overnight near and north of the Arctic Circle in summer cause sleep disruptions. Air conditioning is rare, which is especially dangerous in retirement communities or health care settings. 

Just this week, at least 25 Japanese cities hit all time record high temperatures. Last Wednesday, the temperature in Tamba in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture reached 106 degrees, the hottest temperature on record for the entire nation. 

China is already reporting nearly 70 stations setting new August high temperature records, with six of those places setting all time records. 

Parts of Iran and Iraq have gotten as warm as 124 degrees. 

A historic heat wave hit the Northeast U.S. a month and a half ago,  breaking or tying all time June record highs in all six New England states.  

I've said his previously and it's worth saying again: Heat waves are underreported risks of climate change in most of the media. Hot spells are not "sexy" like picturesque and dramatic images of flash floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. 

Media to a large extent depends on images. And media depends on clicks - eyeballs on web sites and podcasts and such. Which means, behind the scenes, heat waves cause a lot more deaths, a lot more harm than the storms you see on the news all the time.  

The Guardian again, going back to that attribution study of European heat: 

"'This study demonstrates why heat waves are know as silent killers,' said Malcolm Mistry, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-author of the study. 'While a handful of deaths have been reported in Spain, France and Italy, thousands more people are expected to have died as a result of the blistering temperatures."