Western Europe is facing yet another extreme heatwave, which meteorologists describe as a preview of the consequences of climate change, even as the climate crisis appears to be slipping down the political agenda in several countries. Forecasts suggest France could see temperatures reaching up to 43°C, while Spain may hit as high as 45°C — before the peak of summer has even officially begun. Particularly alarming are nighttime temperatures, which are expected to remain above 25°C, significantly increasing heat stress for residents.
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Scientists point out that in recent years heat has already claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 people across the European Union, with extreme weather events becoming increasingly frequent and intense. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures, experts stress, exposes deep weaknesses in how homes and workplaces are designed to cope — weaknesses tied both to the climate crisis itself and to the political choices made in managing it.
Rising temperatures driven by fossil fuels
Emissions from fossil fuels have raised global temperatures by 1.4°C, making every heatwave more severe. Europe, in fact, is warming faster than any other continent due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle.
Mireia Ginesta from the University of Oxford explains that climate change “raises the background temperature at which weather systems operate,” adding: “In a cooler climate, this heatwave would have been less intense.” At 3°C of warming, heat-related deaths in Europe could double or even triple.
Failing infrastructure
Europeans spend 90% of their time in indoor spaces designed to retain heat rather than keep it out. Only one in five households has air conditioning, while more than a third of citizens cannot afford to cool their homes. European infrastructure is simply not built to cope with the climate crisis. Even today, many newly built homes are constructed to withstand winter — not summer heatwaves.
In the UK, 92% of homes are at risk of overheating by 2050. Meanwhile, air conditioning remains rare across Europe and prohibitively expensive: more than a third of Europeans say they cannot afford to cool their homes, a figure that rises to two thirds among those who struggle to make ends meet.
Schools, trains, and offices lack air conditioning — leading to the closure of 800 schools in France and the cancellation of train services in Belgium. Transport networks are equally ill-equipped, with one in five trains in Belgium having no air conditioning, forcing the operator to cancel peak services. Public air-conditioned spaces, meanwhile, are scarce and only available during daytime hours.
Political inaction
Governments are failing to act. The EU has prioritized industrial recovery, putting green policies on hold, while adaptation infrastructure has been left far behind. The European Environment Agency has described the threat as “catastrophic” by mid-century, according to a Politico report.
Cross-party consensus on climate change in the UK has collapsed. While the Labour government is resisting pressure to approve new North Sea drilling, it remains unclear whether this position will hold beyond Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tenure.
Both in the EU and the UK, plans to deal with the inevitable consequences of the crisis — such as heatwaves — lag dramatically behind efforts to cut emissions. The UK’s Climate Change Committee has described existing measures as inadequate, while the Green Alliance think tank has warned that Britons are “paying the price” for their government’s failure to adapt the country to ever-rising summer temperatures.
Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London, sounds the alarm: “Right now, children are struggling to sit their exams in sweltering classrooms and elderly people are enduring dangerously hot homes and care facilities with little relief.”
She closes with a stark truth: “This heat is not a mere inconvenience — it is a growing public health threat. Every heatwave puts lives at risk, and it is time we treated it with the urgency it demands.”
