GENEVA, Wednesday, July 1, 2026 (WAFA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the heatwave sweeping across Europe is a sign of what the continent is likely to face in the coming years, stressing that summers will become increasingly severe as climate change accelerates.
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said the current heatwave is merely a "dress rehearsal" for the future, noting that Europe is warming at more than twice the global average rate and that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and prolonged.
He warned that inadequate preparedness for such extreme weather events would result in higher death tolls and greater human losses.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus previously announced that the ongoing heatwave has so far resulted in more than 1,300 excess deaths.
Kluge also highlighted mounting pressure on healthcare systems, noting that calls to emergency medical services increased by as much as 50 percent in some French cities. London recorded its highest number of life-threatening emergency calls in a single day, while Spain reported more than 300 heat-related deaths within a few days, and Italy announced five heat-related deaths over a 24-hour period.
Although temperatures have begun to ease in some areas, more than 95 million people across eastern and southern Europe continue to endure temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, with meteorologists forecasting another heatwave beginning later this week.
In the Mediterranean, the northwestern basin experienced what scientists described as a historic marine heatwave, with average sea temperatures rising about 5.2 degrees Celsius above normal, according to Spain's Institute of Marine Sciences, which attributed the phenomenon to the exceptional heatwave affecting Europe.
Scientists warned that rising sea temperatures increase the risk of extreme weather events, including storms and floods, while studies show that the world's oceans have absorbed approximately 90 percent of the excess heat generated by human activity since the beginning of the industrial era.
K.T
