The 2003 European heat wave saw the hottest summer recorded in Europe since at least 1540.[2][3]France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. The death toll has been estimated at more than 70,000.[4][5]
The predominant heat was recorded in July and August, partly a result of the western European seasonal lag from the maritime influence of the Atlantic warm waters in combination with hot continental air and strong southerly winds.[citation needed]
The Loire river almost dry near Nevers.A public sign in Paris that reads: "For information on Parisian victims of the heat wave, the city of Paris has established a toll-free number: ...".
In France, 14,802 heat-related deaths (mostly among the elderly) occurred during the heat wave, according to the French National Institute of Health.[6][7] France does not commonly have very hot summers, particularly in the northern areas,[8] but eight consecutive days with temperatures of more than 40°C (104°F) were recorded in Auxerre, Yonne in early August 2003.[9] Because of the usually relatively mild summers, most people did not know how to react to very high temperatures (for instance, with respect to rehydration). Most single-family homes and residential facilities were not equipped with central air conditioning. While contingency plans were made for a variety of natural and man-made catastrophes, high temperatures had rarely been considered a major hazard.[citation needed]
The catastrophe occurred in August, a month in which many people, including government ministers and physicians, are on holiday. Many bodies were not claimed for many weeks because relatives were on holiday. A refrigerated warehouse outside Paris was used by undertakers as they did not have enough space in their own facilities. On September 3, 2003, 57 bodies were still left unclaimed in the Paris area, and were buried.[10]
The high number of deaths can be explained by the conjunction of seemingly unrelated events. Most nights in France are cool, even in summer. As a consequence, houses (usually of stone, concrete, or brick construction) do not warm too much during the daytime and radiate minimal heat at night, and air conditioning is usually unnecessary. During the heat wave, temperatures remained at record highs even at night, breaking the usual cooling cycle.[citation needed]
Elderly people living by themselves had never faced such extreme heat before and did not know how to react or were too mentally or physically impaired by the heat to make the necessary adaptations themselves. Elderly people with family support or those residing in nursing homes were more likely to have others who could make the adjustments for them. This led to unexpected survival rates with the weakest group having fewer deaths than the more physically fit; most of the heat victims came from the group of elderly not requiring constant medical care; often childless women who lived alone.[11]
That shortcomings of the nation's health system could allow such a death toll is a controversy in France. The administration of PresidentJacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin laid the blame on families who had left their elderly behind without caring for them, the 35-hour workweek, which affected the amount of time doctors could work, and family practitioners vacationing in August. Many companies traditionally closed in August, so people had no choice about when to vacation. Family doctors were still in the habit of vacationing at the same time. It is not clear that more physicians would have helped, as the main limitation was not the health system, but locating those which were needing of assistance.[citation needed]
The opposition, as well as many of the editorials of the French local press, blamed the administration. Many blamed Health Minister Jean-François Mattei for failing to return from his vacation when the heat wave became serious, and his aides for blocking emergency measures in public hospitals (such as the recalling of physicians). A particularly vocal critic was Dr.Patrick Pelloux, head of the union of emergency physicians, who blamed the Raffarin administration for ignoring warnings from health and emergency professionals and trying to minimize the crisis. Mattei lost his ministerial post in a cabinet reshuffle on 31 March 2004.[citation needed]
Not everyone blamed the government. "The French family structure is more dislocated than elsewhere in Europe, and prevailing social attitudes hold that once older people are closed behind their apartment doors or in nursing homes, they are someone else's problem", said Stéphane Mantion, an official with the French Red Cross. "These thousands of elderly victims didn't die from a heat wave as such, but from the isolation and insufficient assistance they lived with day in and out, and which almost any crisis situation could render fatal."[12]
Moreover, the French episode of heat wave in 2003 shows how heat wave dangers result from the intricate association of natural and social factors. Although research established that heat waves represent a major threat for public health, France had no policy in place. Until the 2003 event, heat waves were a strongly underestimated risk in the French context, which partly explains the high number of victims.[13]
Below are statistics for the month of August 2003 in France.
The 2003 heatwave served as a wake-up call for many cities to take action on reducing climate risks in urban areas. The following year, the country drew up the National Heat Wave Plan built on national forecasting and alert systems. Despite hotter summers since, the death toll has been significantly lowered. In addition to a major effort to issue warning messages in time, the plan includes measures such as cooling rooms at senior centers, replacing tarmac at playgrounds with more heat reflective materials, and mandatory insulation in construction regulation. This reflects a growing awareness of the benefit of an integrated response to risks like heatwaves, compared to stand-alone technologies and projects and greater attention paid to green and blue infrastructure in city planning. Since 2012, French construction standards for new buildings and, to a lesser extent for existing buildings, have included requirements regarding comfort during heatwaves. In Paris, adding parks and green spaces has been another key solution to heatwaves. Urban greening is most effective when green spaces are watered during a heatwave. Doing so increases the cooling effect from evapotranspiration.[14]
Portugal
In Portugal, there were an estimated 1,953 excess deaths (data corrected, range 1,866 to 2,039); 43% higher than the expected number for that year.[15] 1 August 2003 was the hottest day in centuries, with night temperatures well above 30°C (86°F). At dawn that same day, a freak storm developed in the southern region of the country. Over the next week, a hot, strong sirocco wind contributed to the spread of extensive forest-fires.[16][17]
Five percent of Portugal's countryside and 10% of the forests (215,000hectares[7] or an estimated 2,150km2 (830sqmi)), were destroyed, and 18 people died in the flames. In Amareleja, one of the hottest cities in Europe, temperatures reached as high as 47.3°C (117.1°F).
Luxembourg
In Findel, Luxembourg, the temperature reached 37.9°C (100.2°F) on 8 and 12 August, making it the country's highest temperature since records began in 1947.[18] This temperature record was later broken in July 2019.[19]
Netherlands
About 1,500[7][20] heat-related deaths occurred in the Netherlands, again largely the elderly. The heat wave broke no records,[citation needed] although four tropical weather-designated days in mid-July, preceding the official wave, are not counted due to a cool day in between and the nature of the Netherlands specification/definition of a heat wave.[20]
The highest temperature recorded this heatwave was on 7 August, when in Arcen, in Limburg, a temperature of 37.8°C (100.0°F) was reached, 0.8°C below the national record (since 1904). A higher temperature had only been recorded twice before. On 8 August, a temperature of 37.7°C (99.9°F) was recorded, and 12 August had a temperature of 37.2°C (99.0°F).[21]
Spain
Initially, 141 deaths were attributed to the heat wave in Spain.[22] A further research of INE estimated a 12,963 excess of deaths during summer of 2003.[22] Temperature records were broken in various cities, with the heat wave being more felt in typically cooler northern Spain.
Sevilla, 53°C (127°F) (the 1995 record was 46.6°C (115.9°F))[27]
Italy
The summer of 2003 was among the warmest in the preceding three centuries.[28] The weather station of Catenanuova, in Sicily, had a monthly mean of 31.5°C (88.7°F) in July 2003, with an absolute maximum of 46.0°C (114.8°F) on 17 July, with monthly mean maximum temperatures of 36.0°C (96.8°F), 38.9°C (102.0°F) and 38.0°C (100.4°F) in June, July, and August, respectively.[29] On some days, the increase in power consumption, paired with a 800MW reduction of the electricity imported from France, itself coping with the heat wave, compelled the Italian power companies to set up rolling blackouts.[30] Italy estimated that the number of heat wave related deaths was approximately 20,000.[31]
Germany
In Germany, shipping could not navigate the Elbe or Danube, as a result of low water levels. Low water levels at the Rhine led to a reduction of cargo capacity by 70% to 80%. The drought also led to a reduction in agricultural production. Coal Power Plants and Nuclear Power Plants had to reduce their electricity production because they could not discharge cooling water into the rivers because of their already high water temperature. Together with the limited output of hydroelectric power stations, this led to a rise in electricity prices.[32]
Summer 2003 was with an average Temperature of 19.6°C the warmest in recorded History of Germany. On 9 August temperatures rose to 40.2°C in Karlsruhe and again to 40.2°C on 13 August in Karlsruhe and Freiburg.[33] The number of heat related deaths was estimated to be 9500.[34]
Switzerland
Melting glaciers in the Alps caused avalanches and flash floods in Switzerland. A new nationwide record temperature of 41.5°C (106.7°F) was recorded in Grono, Graubünden.[35]
The United Kingdom experienced one of its hottest summers on record. Atlanticcyclones brought cool and wet weather for a short while at the end of July and beginning of August before the temperatures started to increase substantially on 3 August. Several weather records were broken in the United Kingdom, including a new record for the country's highest ever recorded temperature of 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Faversham in Kent on 10 August, which remained the highest recorded temperature in the UK until the heatwave in July 2019.[36]
This was the first occasion on which temperatures exceeding 38°C (100°F) had ever been officially recorded in the UK.[36]Scotland broke its highest temperature record with 32.9°C (91.2°F) recorded in Greycrook in the Scottish borders on 9 August.
Due to a number of deaths, the UK government released its Heat Health Watch system, issuing warnings if temperatures rise above 30°C in the day and 15°C at night.[37] According to the BBC, over 2,000 more people than usual may have died in the United Kingdom during the 2003 heatwave.[38]
The tarmac melted on part of the M25 between Junctions 26 and 27,[39] and rails buckled from expansion on the hottest day in England in 13 years, while two teenaged boys drowned while trying to escape the excessive heat.[40]
Ireland
The summer of 2003 was warmer than average in Ireland, but the heat was far less pronounced there than in the rest of Europe. August was by far the warmest, sunniest, and driest month, with temperatures roughly 2°C above average. The highest temperature recorded was 28.4°C (83.1°F) at Belderrig, County Mayo on 8 August.[41][42][43]
Agricultural impact
Crops in Southern Europe suffered the most from drought.
Wheat
These shortfalls in wheat harvest occurred as a result of the long drought.[citation needed]
France – 20%
Italy – 13%
United Kingdom – 12%
Ukraine – 75% (unknown if affected by heatwave or an early freeze that year)
Many other countries had shortfalls of 5–10%, and the EU total production was down by 10million tonnes, or 10%.[citation needed]
Grapes
The heatwave greatly accelerated the ripening of grapes; also, the heat dehydrated the grapes, making for more concentrated juice. By mid-August, the grapes in certain vineyards had already reached their optimal sugar content, possibly resulting in 12.0°–12.5° wines (see alcoholic degree). Because of that, and also of the impending change to rainy weather, the harvest was started much earlier than usual (e.g. in mid-August for areas that are normally harvested in September).
The wines from 2003, although in scarce quantity, were predicted to have exceptional quality, especially in France. The heatwave made Hungary fare extremely well in the Vinalies 2003 International wine contest: a total of nine gold and nine silver medals were awarded to Hungarian winemakers.[44]
Oceanic impact
The anomalous overheating affecting the atmosphere also created anomalies on sea surface stratification in the Mediterranean Sea and on the surface currents, as well. A seasonal current of the central Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS), was affected by the warm temperatures, resulting in modifications in its path and intensity. The AIS is important for the reproduction biology of important pelagic commercial fish species, so the heatwave may have influenced indirectly the stocks of these species.[45]
Economic impact
The regional-level cost of heatwaves (as a share of regional GDP) in 2003
Extreme heat undermines the working capacity of individuals, resulting in lower productivity, and thus economic output. In 2003, economic losses attributed to excessive heat amounted to 0.5% of European Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[46] This is 2.5 times higher than the losses experienced during an average year over the historical period 1981–2010. Losses of over 1% of GDP were recorded in areas with high exposure to heat and showing a large share of outdoor work.[citation needed]
A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather. Definitions vary but are similar. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and to normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that humans from a hotter climate consider normal, can be regarded as a heat wave in a cooler area. This would be the case if the warm temperatures are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. High humidity often occurs during heat waves as well. This is especially the case in oceanic climate countries. Heat waves have become more frequent, and more intense over land, across almost every area on Earth since the 1950s, the increase in frequency and duration being caused by climate change.
A period of unusually hot summer weather occurred in the British Isles during the summer of 1976. At the same time, there was a severe drought on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers (June/July/August) in the 20th century, although the summer of 1995 is now regarded as the driest. Only a few places registered more than half their average summer rainfall. In the Central England temperature record, it was the warmest summer in the series until being surpassed in the 21st century. It was the warmest summer in the Aberdeen area since at least 1864, and the driest summer since 1868 in Glasgow.
The 2006 European heat wave was a period of exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of June 2006 in certain European countries. The United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and western parts of Russia were most affected.
More than 1,030 people were killed in the 2002 heatwave in South India. Most of the dead were poor and elderly and a majority of deaths occurred in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In the districts that were impacted most, the heat was so severe that ponds and rivers evaporated and in those same districts birds had fallen from the sky and animals were collapsing from the intense heat.
Launceston, Tasmania has a cool, temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. The city is located in the Tamar Valley in Northern Tasmania and is surrounded by many large hills and mountains. With this type of topography, Launceston's weather patterns can change considerably in a short period.
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during July 29, 2010. The first phase of the global heatwaves was caused by a moderate El Niño event, which lasted from June 2009 to May 2010. This lasted only from April 2010 to June 2010 and caused only moderate above-average temperatures in the affected regions, but it also set new record high temperatures for most of the area affected in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Australian summer of 2012–2013, known as the Angry Summer or Extreme Summer, resulted in 123 weather records being broken over a 90-day period, including the hottest day ever recorded for January on record, the hottest summer average on record, and a record seven days in a row when the whole country averaged above 39 °C (102 °F). Single-day temperature records were broken in dozens of towns and cities, as well as single-day rainfall records, and several rivers flooded to new record highs.
The 2013 heatwave in the United Kingdom and Ireland was a period of unusually hot weather primarily in July 2013, with isolated warm days in June and August. A prolonged high pressure system over Great Britain and Ireland caused higher than average temperatures for 19 consecutive days in July, reaching 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) at Heathrow and Northolt.
The 2018 Britain and Ireland heatwave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern moorland areas around the Greater Manchester region, the largest was at Saddleworth Moor and another was at Winter Hill, together these burned over 14 square miles (36 km2) of land over a period of nearly a month.
The 2018 European drought and heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place. According to the European Drought Observatory, most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the northern hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change in Europe, as well as events of extreme precipitation.
In 2018, several heat waves with temperatures far above the long-time average and droughts were recorded in the Northern Hemisphere: The earth's average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in the 140 years of record keeping. It is assumed that the jet stream is slowing down, trapping cloudless, windless and extremely hot regions of high pressure. The jet stream anomalies could be caused by polar amplification, one of the observed effects of global warming.
In late June and late July 2019 there were two temporally distinct European heat waves, which set all-time high temperature records in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The 2021 Western North America heat wave was an extreme heat wave that affected much of Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021. The heat wave affected Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the United States, as well as British Columbia, and in its latter phase, Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Yukon, all in Canada. It also affected inland regions of Central and Southern California, Nevada, and Montana, though the temperature anomalies were not as extreme as in the regions farther north.
The 2021 Britain and Ireland heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather in July 2021 that led to record-breaking temperatures in the UK and Ireland.
This page documents notable heat waves worldwide in 2021.
The 2022 Japan heatwave was a heatwave that affected many prefectures. Temperatures peaked at 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. 15,657 people were taken to hospital emergency departments, 5,261 of whom were admitted.
The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days in August. These were periods of unusually hot weather caused by rising high pressure up from the European continent. There were also more grass fires and wildfires than average, and in August a drought was declared in many regions.
From June to August 2022, persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe, causing evacuations and killing tens of thousands. These heat waves were the deadliest meteorological events in 2022. The highest temperature recorded was 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) in Pinhão, Portugal, on 14 July.
In 2023, Europe had been affected by heat waves. The most significant of which was the named heat wave, Cerberus Heatwave, which brought the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe. Starting on 10 July 2023, the record-breaking Cerberus anticyclone affected many European countries, with the effects felt most severely in parts of Southeast and Southwest Europe such as Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The private Italian weather website iLMeteo named the extreme weather event after the hound of Hades from Greek mythology, and although some reports link the naming to the Italian Meteorological Society, the society's president said that they "absolutely don’t use it".
↑ 32. Poumadère, M., Mays, C., Le Mer, S. and Blong, R. (2005), The 2003 Heat Wave in France: Dangerous Climate Change Here and Now. Risk Analysis, 25: 1483–1494. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2005.00694.xArchived 18 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Onda de calor de Agosto de 2003: os seus efeitos sobre a mortalidade da população portuguesa"(PDF) (in Portuguese). Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge. p.16. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009. De acordo com o período de comparação que se considerou mais adequado (biénio 2000-2001), o número de óbitos esperado foi de 4499,3 e o excesso foi de 1953 óbitos (IC95:1866-2029). O número de óbitos observado foi, assim, 43% superior ao número esperado.
↑ "Portugal Diário" (in Portuguese). Portugaldiario.iol.pt. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
↑ "Table I – Daily temperature readings"(PDF). Osservatorio delle Acque (Water Monitoring) Annual data. Dipartimento dell'Acqua e dei Rifiuti. 2003. p.45. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
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