Asad Mirza
The extreme temperatures seen in Europe over the past fortnight are a result of our own making, and it may be a wake-up call for humans to stop messing with nature.
When we think of Europe, we mostly think of the cold, pleasant weather, compared to our scorching heat and humid weather. But in 2022, the European continent faces one of the worst summers.
Usually, by Indian standards, even European summers were considered much better than our winters, but record heat affecting parts of Western Europe during the fortnight, with UK temperatures exceeding 400°C (104°F) for the first time since record keeping began in 1772, proved us wrong.
Temperatures have fallen in many other countries across Europe, with 64 different regions in France seeing record highs and temperatures in Portugal reaching 470C.
The dangerously high temperatures have also had other additional consequences, with Portugal reporting more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths in the past fortnight. At least 13 people have died in open water incidents in the UK.
Extreme heat wave warnings were issued in France and record July temperatures were reported in the Netherlands. In Paris, the thermometer crossed 400 degrees Celsius for the third time this summer.
In addition, wildfires continue to sweep through parts of southwestern Europe. In addition to increasing ozone pollution, the European heat wave is also exacerbating the scale and intensity of the wildfires currently raging across southern Europe, particularly in the south-west of France, Spain and Portugal. The most affected regions so far include the Gironde region south of Bordeaux, Extremadura and Galicia in Spain, and parts of Portugal.
This also comes with the fact that Europe is experiencing more and more floods in areas where they were previously unknown such as in Germany and the UK. Experts blame climate change for soaring temperatures around the world, particularly in Europe, and have warned that the worst is yet to come.
Scientific view
The Guardian reported that Professor Richard Allan, from the University of Reading, said climate change is intensifying these heatwaves as rising greenhouse gases raise temperatures and a warmer atmosphere and more thirsty dries the ground, so that more of the solar energy is available. to heat the soil rather than evaporating the water.
Politico quoted Mariam Zachariah, a climatologist at Imperial College London, as saying that the buildup of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels has made heat waves more intense and more frequent across the world, including in Europe. .
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned last week that the heat wave in Europe could persist until the middle of next week, when the negative impacts of climate change are expected to continue at least until the 2060s.
Robert Stefanski, Head of Applied Climate Services at WMO, during a joint press briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO), also said that record heat waves are becoming more frequent due to of climate change.
Scientists from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) predict very high levels of surface ozone pollution across a large region of Europe as temperatures soar. They also warn of very high levels of ozone pollution in southern Europe caused by the heatwave which could now affect northwestern regions over the coming week. The prediction comes after extremely high surface ozone pollution was seen across western and southern Europe, particularly along the west coast of Portugal and parts of northern Italy.
CAMS Senior Scientist Mark Parrington says the potential impacts of very high ozone pollution on human health can be significant, both in terms of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Higher values can lead to symptoms such as sore throat, cough, headache and an increased risk of asthma attacks. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition estimates that ozone pollution causes approximately one million additional deaths per year. This is why it is crucial that we monitor surface ozone levels.
Recently the BBC published a revealing report, which outlines how the main perpetrators of environmental degradation planned and executed a bold campaign 30 years ago to sow doubt and persuade the public that climate change is not was no problem. The coming together of some of America’s biggest industrial players and a public relations genius forged a devastatingly successful strategy that lasted for years and whose consequences are all around us.
Climate change and big business
The Global Climate Coalition (GCC) – which represented the oil, coal, auto, utility, steel and rail industries – hired a communications partner to change the narrative on climate change. and submit opinion pieces. The groundwork was meticulously laid for the industry’s biggest campaign to date – opposing international efforts to negotiate emissions cuts in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997.
It makes us wonder where we went wrong. It is indeed true to say that over the past 100 years humans have destroyed the earth so much that nature is turning against them.
We constantly hear about environmental planning and tackling the effects of climate change, but we see that most governments are keen to deliver on their commitments made at different environmental forums, such as COP26 and other international bodies.
The basic requirement is that we will also have to change our lifestyles to face climate challenges. We will have to change the way we construct our commercial and residential buildings, all of which are clad in glass or aluminum and require more heat-intensive mechanisms to maintain a cooler temperature. In hotels around the world it is normal to keep the building temperature at 170 C, why can’t we make it a more reasonable 210 C? In addition, we must also change our style of construction by using a judicious mixture of stone, cement and wood, not relying only on a particular product, in addition to reducing the use of wood.
If we humans don’t act now instead of just preaching and making empty promises, we might just be expecting our own extinction much sooner than nature intended.
(The author is a New Delhi-based political commentator.)
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