Extreme weather news and discussion

[weatheriscool]

Europe's heatwave linked to 1,300 deaths, WHO says, as Germany hits record 41.7C

1 hour ago

Europe's unprecedented early summer heatwave may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Temperature records were broken across the continent again on Sunday – including in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – as the extreme heat continued to move east.

In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June "linked to high temperatures in Europe".

"Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer' - and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4d2vv935lo

Time to mandate AC in all homes and buildings...IF need be mandate roof top solar to support them but they seriously need to do this. This is wrong.

[wjfox]

June heatwave was hotter than thought whilst relief from heat set to be short lived

29 June 2026

The UK is set for cooler weather this week after a spell of record-breaking heat, but the reprieve may not last long.

New June heat records were set on three consecutive days last week.

The Met Office confirmed on Monday that after analysing more data over the weekend, a new temperature record of 37.7C was set in Lingwood, Norfolk on 26 June.

This new figure surpasses the 37.3C from Santon Downham that was announced on the day.

As with all temperature records, it will be subject to verification but, if confirmed, would be the new June temperature record for the UK.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/c5yzq1q4zm8o

[wjfox]

1,028 killed by the heat in Spain:

https://www.dw.com/en/europe-heat-wave- ... a-77781523


Europe-wide death toll now stands at 3,400:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_European_heatwaves

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

1,028 killed by the heat in Spain:

https://www.dw.com/en/europe-heat-wave- ... a-77781523


Europe-wide death toll now stands at 3,400:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_European_heatwaves

Time for all these european countries to mandate AC in all of their homes and solar on their roofs. The government should fund it.

[wjfox]

The government should fund it.

According to ChatGPT, that would cost about half a trillion quid.

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

I think the money is worth it.

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Just to be clear, there were 800 deaths reported from the recent heat wave. A misreading of the headline in the above post might lead one to conclude that these deaths were the result of the use of water cannons. This is not true as the water cannons provided genuine relief. It is unclear to me whether RT deliberately meant to post a misleading headline.

Sources: https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news ... 1309.html

https://www.wfla.com/news/national/fran ... n-records/

Also:

RT has regularly been described as a major propaganda outlet for the Russian government and its foreign policy. Academics, fact-checkers, and news reporters (including some current and former RT reporters) have identified RT as a purveyor of disinformation and conspiracy theories. UK media regulator Ofcom has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality, including multiple instances in which RT broadcast "materially misleading" content

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)

[firestar464]

Probably meant to bullshit as it is part of their mission to portray Europe as falling apart

[Yuli Ban]

The A/C debate is one that Europeans are going to lose.
These temperatures that are killing so many Europeans are literally the norm in lower latitudes. Where I am, in Louisiana, we have regular month-long streaks of 90°F+ (so 32°C+) with intense humidity and mugginess during the summer.
That's just the norm!
Without A/C, and especially considering homes and businesses aren't designed with ultra-efficient airflow in mind, it would be literal hell to deal with.
This sort of thing is going to become more prominent in the coming years in Europe before it turns around. The progress we're making in renewables is gradual, and the come-down from high-temperatures will also be gradual. In the interim, I fully expect heatwaves like this to become more common.
Hell I expect western Europe to start getting a tropical cyclone/hurricane regularly each year.

And that's the BEST case scenario. Worst case scenario is that Europe gets these wild heatwaves in the summer, then becomes Siberia outside of summertime because the Gulf Stream collapses. Yeah, imagine winters in London where the temperature regularly reaches -40° (C or F, doesn't matter at that number) for weeks at a time.

[firestar464]

I find that the drawbacks of AC are best solved with accelerating the proliferation of renewables and better city planning.

[weatheriscool]

The A/C debate is one that Europeans are going to lose.
These temperatures that are killing so many Europeans are literally the norm in lower latitudes. Where I am, in Louisiana, we have regular month-long streaks of 90°F+ (so 32°C+) with intense humidity and mugginess during the summer.
That's just the norm!
Without A/C, and especially considering homes and businesses aren't designed with ultra-efficient airflow in mind, it would be literal hell to deal with.
This sort of thing is going to become more prominent in the coming years in Europe before it turns around. The progress we're making in renewables is gradual, and the come-down from high-temperatures will also be gradual. In the interim, I fully expect heatwaves like this to become more common.
Hell I expect western Europe to start getting a tropical cyclone/hurricane regularly each year.

And that's the BEST case scenario. Worst case scenario is that Europe gets these wild heatwaves in the summer, then becomes Siberia outside of summertime because the Gulf Stream collapses. Yeah, imagine winters in London where the temperature regularly reaches -40° (C or F, doesn't matter at that number) for weeks at a time.

The left needs to run for office on free roof top solar for all houses and all houses that have it can have AC. We need to admit that our world is going to have deadly heatwave and ac is our key tool to survive it.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

TLDR: It was not needed before, Europe is not necessarily anti-AC but hasn't begun the drive to mass adopt it yet, and AC is only part of the story.

King’s College London’s Pillai says that, by centring the debate on AC, the far-right response to the heatwaves in Europe has “completely neglected the science of how you cool human beings”.

There are many solutions, he adds, that are already widely used across hot developing countries, such as ceiling fans, windows that open and cross-ventilation, as well as strategies to reduce cumulative hours of heat exposure.

Pillai tells Carbon Brief that, while places reaching 42C and higher “definitely need to think about AC very seriously”, places in the “low to mid 30Cs” could rely on these alternatives.

Behavioural change, he adds, is the “least glamorous part” of heat policy, but “pulls most of the weight” of protecting people. These include a wide range of actions and responses – from reducing heat exposure, to wearing lighter clothing and drinking more water and fluids.

[weatheriscool]