In the end of June, Europe experienced one of the most intense heatwave in the meteorological recording history. Britain sustained its warmest June day since of 1976 and France suffered the hottest June night ever on the 21st century. Similarly, the Netherlands faced its hottest June on record while in Switzerland it was the second warmest month since 1864.

In Greece, temperatures were risen up to 45-46 degrees Celsius in the shadow across the country. To make matters worse, the heat index (the real feeling of the temperature) was a couple of degrees higher than the previous mentioned temperatures due to the increased humidity. In some cities, the thermometer was showing even 60 degrees Celsius under the sun.

According to World Weather Attribution (an international coalition of scientists that calculates the role of climate change in extreme weather events), human-caused climate change dramatically increased the likelihood of the extreme heatwave up to 10 times in many parts of Europe. Their study indicated that in countries like Spain, Portugal and France, climate change could be increasing the chances of extreme heat by up to 40 times.

beAWARE can play a vital role in the response of these extreme weather tendencies. Its early warning system regarding the upcoming phenomenon, combined with the coordination platform and cooperation mechanism between the different civil services and first responders, can provide significant assistance in taking the necessary measures in order to avoid past problems and address the heatwave more efficiently.

Sources: BBC, REUTERS, Kathimerini