The current heatwave in Europe has caused several deaths across the continent.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell says the extreme heat shows the growing impact of fossil fuel pollution.
“This is the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet,” Stiell said.
Temperatures in France, Britain and Spain broke records this week. Meanwhile, several other European countries issued high-level heat alerts.
Stiell said the heatwave has the “fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it”. He also linked worsening extreme heat to continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Deaths in Spain amid extreme heat
Spain has recorded 212 deaths possibly linked to the heatwave. Authorities reported the figure between Sunday and Wednesday.
The country also recorded record daily average temperatures.
The average reached 28.08 degrees Celsius on Monday. It then climbed to 28.17C on Tuesday.
Those figures represent Spain’s highest daily average temperatures since at least 1950.
The heat also triggered the highest alerts in parts of northern Spain. Cantabria and the Basque Country faced particularly intense conditions.
Temperatures climbed above 40C in some areas. These regions usually avoid the worst European heat.
However, conditions began to ease on Thursday. Most weather warnings ended, while northern areas remained under the lowest yellow alert.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom recorded its highest-ever temperature. The temperature reached 36.1C.
That figure exceeded the previous record of 35.6C from 1976.
Child deaths reported in France heatwave
In France, the national average temperature reached 30C, its hottest since 1947, when the country began measuring its general temperature.
The capital, Paris, experienced 40.3C on Wednesday, with its mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, reporting increased mortality without specific figures.
A three-year old boy was discovered dead inside a car in Paris on Thursday, marking him as the third child to die during the ongoing extreme heat, according to the police.
The child was found by his parents in a vehicle parked outside their home in Saint-Gratien, a suburb north of Paris.
The other fatalities are from southern France.
They were aged two and four, and were also found dead inside their family cars on Monday.
Experts warn of future extremes, call for climate action
The ongoing heatwave in Europe is worse than what the scientists anticipated, according to Jim Skea, the head of the UN’s climate experts panel.
He warned the continent that such extreme weather would become more frequent as global warming continues.
“Inevitably, we’re going to experience more of what we’ve been seeing over the last few days,” he said, as reported by AFP.
At the same time, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for governments to focus on “climate-resilient health systems” and advancing climate action.
“Europe’s heatwave is closing schools and putting people’s health at risk,” he said.
“We cannot afford further delay. Leaders must prioritise investment in climate-resilient health systems, while also accelerating climate action and mitigating the drivers of the climate crisis.”
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