Mudança climática já causa prejuízos para economia da Europa

 

Colheitas como a do girassol já registram prejuízos com ondas de calor e seca, reforçadas pelo aquecimento global

by  Redação DW

 Calor recorde e seca tiveram impacto sobre produção de energia, transporte fluvial e saúde pública. Clima pressiona PIBs da região, que deve enfrentar queda no crescimento.

 

As temperaturas extremas dos últimos dois meses na Europa, durante o verão no Hemisfério Norte, já deixam à mostra o potencial impacto econômico das mudanças climáticas. 

A seca e o calor recorde – ambos exacerbados pelo aquecimento global, apontam os cientistas – causaram prejuízo na produção de energia, no transporte fluvial e na saúde pública sobrecarregada, enquanto a atual temporada de incêndios florestais caminha para se tornar a maior já registrada no continente.

No total, a repercussão sobre a economia da região já pode ser medida em centenas de bilhões de euros, estimam economistas e acadêmicos. Eles alertam que os custos deverão subir ainda mais rápido do que os termômetros na Europa, onde o clima está mudando a passos mais rápidos do que no resto do mundo.

A Europa Ocidental registrou os meses de junho e julho mais quentes já observados, com temperatura média de 21,62 °C , informou nesta segunda-feira o Serviço de Mudanças Climáticas Copernicus, da União Europeia (UE). O número ficou 2,79 °C acima da média de junho do período entre 1991 e 2020.

"O que torna 2026 particularmente preocupante do ponto de vista econômico é o fato de haver múltiplos episódios de eventos extremos", disse a economista Sehrish Usman, da Universidade de Mannheim.

A previsão dos economistas é que os danos provavelmente superarão todos os níveis anteriores. Os prejuízos a setores específicos se capilarizam ao pressionar as finanças públicas, provocar fortes oscilações na inflação, redesenhar o mapa do turismo e forçar a Europa a repensar a forma como produz energia e transporta mercadorias.

Pressão sobre PIBs 

Assim como em junho e em parte de maio, as condições em julho foram mais secas do que a média em muitas regiões da Europa. Áreas da Península Ibérica, França, Alemanha, Áustria, Hungria e Reino Unido foram particularmente afetados, segundo o Copernicus. 

A navegação nos rios Reno e Danúbio, artérias fundamentais para o transporte de cargas, está severamente limitada devido ao baixo nível das águas. Mais de meia dúzia de reatores nucleares tiveram suas operações interrompidas ou reduzidas por dificuldades de resfriamento, também em razão da seca.

A paralisação do transporte no Reno, por si só, reduzirá o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) da Alemanha, terceira maior economia do mundo, em 0,3 ponto percentual neste ano, estimou o banco ING. Já o MBH Bank, da Hungria, calcula um impacto de 0,1 ponto percentual no PIB para cada semana em que a maior usina nuclear do país permanecer fora de operação.

As estimativas para a produção agrícola, enquanto isso, foram revisadas para baixo. As culturas colhidas mais tarde no verão, como milho e girassol, já registraram perdas de 6% a 7% em julho.

A umidade da camada superficial do solo na Europa Ocidental em julho ficou significativamente abaixo dos níveis observados durante julho de 2022, quando o continente também enfrentou uma seca severa.

"À medida que os solos secam, eles perdem sua capacidade de proporcionar resfriamento natural, permitindo que o calor se acumule com mais facilidade", afirma Samantha Burgess, do Copernicus. "Este é um exemplo claro de como as mudanças climáticas estão intensificando os episódios de calor extremo, com calor e seca reforçando-se mutuamente de forma cada vez mais frequente."

 

Queda do crescimento

Ao mesmo tempo, os custos das ações emergenciais, como o combate a incêndios ou a redução do consumo de energia, pressionam orçamentos públicos. O calor intenso pressiona também a saúde pública: somente a Alemanha registrou mais de 10 mil mortes relacionadas às altas temperaturas.

Apenas a onda de calor de duas semanas registrada em junho – houve quatro ondas de calor excepcionais desde a primavera, segundo o Copernicus – reduzirá o PIB da Europa em 0,3 ponto percentual, previu, por sua vez, a seguradora alemã Allianz. Além disso, as mudanças climáticas devem cortar entre 5% e 7% do crescimento econômico até 2030 nas economias mais expostas, como Espanha, França e Itália.

"A conta total deste ano será muito maior", aponta Hazem Krichene, economista da Allianz. "Esse número não inclui os incêndios, as secas, diferentes episódios de enchentes ou o esperado fenômeno El Niño."

Considerando que a zona do euro deve crescer apenas 1% neste ano, o impacto é significativo. Ainda assim, a extensão completa dos danos econômicos só será sentida vários anos depois, segundo Usman.

"Seria de se esperar que os danos fossem maiores no ano em que ocorre um evento extremo e depois diminuíssem, mas encontramos justamente o contrário", afirmou. "O impacto econômico cresce nos anos seguintes porque os eventos climáticos extremos desencadeiam uma série de consequências econômicas mais lentas."

Impactos maiores no Sul

O Sul da Europa pode sofrer os maiores impactos, já que os picos de temperatura são mais intensos nessa região, reduzindo receitas do turismo, agravando perdas agrícolas e estimulando a migração para outras áreas.

"Você consegue imaginar turistas caminhando pelo sul da Itália ou da Espanha com 45 °C? Eu não. Por isso, acredito que a natureza do turismo vai mudar", disse o economista Carsten Brzeski, do ING.

Calor extremo poderá impactar negativamente o turismo de verão nos países do Sul da Europa, que movimenta a economia regionalFoto: Francesco Fotia/Avalon/Photoshot/picture alliance

Segundo os especialistas, os países do Sul poderão receber mais turistas ao longo de todo o ano. Mas os picos de verão devem diminuir à medida que viajantes optem por destinos mais ao norte, afetando o setor de hospedagem e turismo da região.

Os eventos climáticos extremos deverão também aumentar o preço dos alimentos, complicando ainda mais a tarefa do Banco Central Europeu (BCE) de manter a inflação na meta. A tendência é que as áreas mais quentes sejam as mais impactadas.

Segundo estimativas de Maximilian Kotz, pesquisador do Barcelona Supercomputing Center, o calor extremo de 2022 elevou a inflação da zona do euro em 0,34 ponto percentual por meio do aumento dos preços dos alimentos, com impacto desproporcional sobre os países do sul.

Ao mesmo tempo, a interrupção do transporte fluvial dificulta o abastecimento de combustíveis em partes da Europa, ampliando as diferenças regionais de preços.

Risco de endividamento público

A Allizanz estima ainda que a redução anual de receitas tributárias causada pela perda de atividade econômica pode chegar a 1,8% na França e a 1,3% na Itália e na Espanha. 

As margens de lucro das empresas também devem diminuir, reduzindo investimentos e ampliando as perdas econômicas. Ao mesmo tempo, os custos aumentam, tanto porque os governos precisam financiar respostas emergenciais quanto porque precisam investir em medidas de adaptação, como tornar mais resilientes a geração de energia e as rotas de transporte.

"Uma preocupação central é que os países ainda dependem excessivamente de respostas emergenciais improvisadas, que são caras e frequentemente pouco eficientes", afirma Heather Grabbe, pesquisadora sênior do centro de estudos Bruegel.

Mas os investidores podem reagir negativamente caso os governos tentem ampliar os gastos. Os níveis de endividamento já são elevados, especialmente na França e na Itália.

"Com uma lista tão longa de necessidades de gastos, a tendência será de aumento do endividamento público", disse Brzeski. "Isso poderá significar pressão sobre o BCE para intervir novamente e ampliar os programas de compra de ativos caso ocorra uma venda repentina de títulos nos mercados."

O BCE, ao longo da última década comprou trilhões de euros em títulos da dívida pública para manter baixos os custos de financiamento quando a inflação estava abaixo da meta.

ht/cn (Reuters, dpa)

‘Stop all outdoor activities’: South Korea records its highest ever temperature

Women use portable fans to cool off at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul in July. South Korea has recorded its hottest temperature and issued a heat alert. Photograph: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images

By Mark Saunokonoko

 Authorities issue alert saying indoor spaces without airconditioning are ‘dangerous’ as temperatures pass 40C for fifth straight day 

South Korea has registered its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago, as authorities warned people to “immediately” stop all outdoor activities in affected areas.

The south-eastern city of Yangsan saw the temperature reach 42.5C on Sunday afternoon, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said, the highest temperature reported since modern weather observation began in 1904.

Yangsan has been the centre of an ongoing heatwave, where temperatures exceeded 40C for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday, while many other cities including Daegu and Busan are seeing temperatures climb into the high 30s.

 

People gathered in airconditioned shopping malls or cafes to escape the blistering temperatures. Others sought relief under mist-spray zones set up in Seoul. Ju Dong-yeol, 27, took refuge from the heat in a Starbucks in the South Korean capital, along with his parents and told AFP “it is too hot to be outside doing anything”.

“I can’t think of anything else to do other than stay in airconditioned places like home, shopping malls and cafes,” the office worker said.

 

The city of Gyeongju, about 240km south-east of Seoul, reached 40.3C on Sunday, its highest recorded temperature in eight years.

North Korea has also faced punishing heat, with temperatures soaring as high as 40C in some regions, state media reported on Monday. Residents in Pyongyang have endured a week of nights where the temperature has not dropped below 25C.

More than 20 localities in South Korea were under emergency heatwave alerts on Sunday – a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for the day.

Workers harvest strawberries under parasols to protect against the scorching sun in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

 

Issuing a heat warning, the weather agency urged people to “immediately stop all outdoor activities”, adding that “indoor spaces without air conditioning are dangerous”.

“Move immediately to a cool place, such as a designated cooling centre or a shaded area, and stay hydrated while resting,” it advised.

Fearing for those people most vulnerable to heat, the prime minister, Han Seong-sook, ordered local officials to strengthen safety checks on residents and to ensure a stable power and water supply was maintained.

Easterly winds are expected to push the extreme heat further inland on Monday, with Seoul forecast to reach 37C. “Temperatures in South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang are expected to exceed 39C, bringing extreme heat at life-threatening levels,” the KMA said.

People stand in a mist-spraying zone to cool off on a street in Seoul. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

 

Officials are also monitoring Typhoon Dolphin, which is now tracking towards China’s south-east coastal regions, south of the Korean peninsula, and could dictate how long the stifling heat persists.

If the typhoon moves towards eastern China, it could increase humidity and potentially worsening the heatwave and tropical nights in Korea, the KMA said. But a path closer to the south of the peninsula could bring stronger winds, greater cloud cover and rain, temporarily easing the heat.

KMA data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 in the past five years.

A heatwave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33C.

South Korea’s professional baseball league was forced to cancel one game in Changwon after the city’s temperature climbed to 39.5C, marking the second consecutive game cancellation in the city.

“The decision was made with the safety and health of spectators and players as the top priority, as a severe heatwave warning remains in effect for the Changwon area,” said the Korea Baseball Organization in a statement.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.

Adding to the extreme weather is the return this year of El Niño – a natural climate phenomenon that warms Pacific Ocean surface temperatures and typically occurs every two to seven years.

With Agence France-Presse

UK swelters in third heatwave of the year as western Europe counts cost of hottest-ever June. Britain expands heat alerts while estimates suggest June’s death toll could surpass 20,000 across continent

People shield themselves from the sun at the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace in London. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Shutterstock

 

by  Pippa Neill and Ajit Niranjan

The UK is sweltering through the peak of its third heatwave of the year as countries around Europe struggle to recover from an early onslaught of baking summer heat.

Punishing temperatures pushed higher by fossil fuel pollution have broken records across the continent in recent weeks. Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record, scientists confirmed on Thursday, accompanied by high global ocean temperatures that could cause “mass-mortality events” for some species.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Thursday expanded amber heat health alerts to cover all regions of England except the north-east, meaning significant impacts are likely across health and social care services owing to the high temperatures.

 

The UK Met Office said high temperatures would remain through much of next week, which could make the heatwave one of the longest lasting since the 1976 heatwave that killed 250 people. On Thursday temperatures surpassed 35C (95F) in Surrey, falling short of the provisional high of 37.7C recorded at Lingwood, Strumpshaw Hill, in Norfolk on 26 June.

The Met Office said Thursday was the eighth day this year where temperatures had surpassed 34C, breaking the previous records from 2020 and 1976 by one day.

Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, said the climate crisis was making every heatwave hotter, with events such as this month’s heatwave more likely to occur.

“The heat we have seen this summer is only possible because of the 1.4C of climate change we have to date, due to the burning of fossil fuels,” she said.

Otto said it was misleading to use the term “new normal” when describing this year’s scorching summer heat. “The climate we have today is not stable and continues to warm as long as we continue to burn fossil fuels. As a result, what is ‘normal’ keeps shifting and we’re likely to see much hotter heatwaves like this one in the years to come.”

 Many countries across Europe are still reckoning with the fallout from the last heatwave. On Thursday, Belgium’s public science institute said its June heat was “exceptionally deadly”, with 1,747 excess deaths, while the Robert Koch Institute reported 5,120 heat-related deaths in Germany this summer. Early academic estimates suggest the death toll across the continent could be higher than 20,000.

A firefighter sprays water on spectators watching the sixth stage of the Tour de France between Pau and Gavarnie-Gèdre in the French Pyrenees. Photograph: Loïc Venance/AFP/Getty Images

In France, where a nuclear reactor reportedly shut down in high heat on Thursday, scientists said the transformation of homes from “thermal kettles” into decent housing was a public health imperative.

France’s high council on climate, an independent body responsible for evaluating government climate action, urged policymakers to improve housing stock and make the creation of shaded green spaces an integral part of urban regeneration. In hospitals, care homes and schools, it recommended installing shutters, shade structures, ceiling fans, cooling systems, and fixed air-conditioning units.

The annual report, which is in its eighth edition, found France was not ready for the dangerous consequences of climate breakdown and said current policies were insufficient to avoid a sharp increase in risk.

A boy rests inside the Roman theatre in Arles, France. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

The scientists lamented the slowdown in climate action and called for a consolidated plan to phase out fossil fuels. “The cost of inaction is much higher than the cost of the transition,” the authors wrote, “which makes unilateral decarbonisation by major economies a rational choice that brings considerable welfare gains for societies”.

The NHS in England has said it is facing a “summer onslaught”, with the heatwave and the World Cup to blame. Average A&E attendances exceeded 80,000 for the first time ever in June, a new daily attendance record.

The NHS national medical director, Prof Frankie Swords, said the figures showed that summer was putting the NHS under just as much pressure as winter. South Central ambulance service NHS foundation trust said during the June heatwave there was a 118% increase in the number of times 999 emergency call takers directed members of the public to collect a nearby defibrillator for someone in suspected cardiac arrest.

More than 1,000 schools across the UK were either closed or partially closed during the June heatwave, and some schools have taken similar measures this week as they struggled to cope in poorly insulated buildings.

 

Water companies have reported increased demand, with a hosepipe ban already in force for South East Water customers in parts of Kent. Hosepipe restrictions are also being introduced for about 1 million Southern Water customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Friday.

Supermarkets across the UK have struggled to keep their fridge and freezer units running in the extreme heat, with many shoppers finding empty shelves at their local store and a hastily erected sign apologising for the inconvenience.

Rupert Ashby, the chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, said the trade association heard from a number of members who had encountered problems, and shops with older fridge-freezer units were being worst affected.

In older models, the refrigeration cycle components that pump out hot air are typically stored outside the building and are designed to work in ambient temperature. In an extreme heat event they do not work as efficiently, as they cannot pump the heat away.

 

Signs on blinds covering fridges in the chilled food aisle of a Sainsbury’s supermarket in England. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

 

 

 “These systems just weren’t designed to deal with this type of temperature because, historically, we rarely had it,” Ashby said. “But a major supermarket chain is probably looking at hundreds of millions of pounds to replace all its older units because they have so many.”

Phil Pluck, the chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said 50% of cold warehouses in the UK were more than 20 years old with old refrigeration systems, and the hot weather had massively increased energy usage and pressure on the system.

“As an industry, we are finding ourselves under more and more pressure,” he said. “I think we’ve got to admit that our climate is now clearly in crisis, and one of the things that will have to change will be our access to food via retail outlets. It will look different.”

He said open fridge-freezers in supermarkets would become less common, and standard practice would shift to using Perspex doors to keep heat out. Some supermarkets have installed pull-down blinds on their fridge units to help keep food cool.

 Additional reporting Jessica Murray

At least 25 people die in US as record heatwave scorches swaths of country. More than 20 states reported temperatures above 100F as heat dome sits over eastern US during holiday weekend

A woman grabs water from a bucket on the National Mall in Washington DC during 250th anniversary celebrations on 4 July. Photograph: Dominic Gwinn/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

 

 by Lucy Campbell

 

At least about two dozen people have died amid the perilous climate crisis-driven heatwave that has scorched swaths of the US with record temperatures.

As a huge heat dome sits over the county’s eastern half, extreme heat gripped millions of people in the days leading up to the US’s semiquincentennial on Saturday – and beyond it. More than 20 states experienced have reported stifling temperatures more than 100F (38C), marring celebrations. And more than 140 million people remained under active heat alerts across the US on Sunday.

Officials in New Jersey believe the extreme heat was a factor in the deaths of 22 people across 10 counties there, mostly in central and northern parts of the state. Many of the individuals were found in homes with no air conditioning, outside their residences, on the street and in parked cars, according to officials.

 

The first of those deaths occurred on Thursday, and the ages of the deceased in question mostly range from their mid-30s to their 80s. Preliminary findings cause investigators to believe the deaths are heat-related, though the chief state medical examiner for New Jersey would later determine the exact cause of death for each.

“This is not a typical summer heatwave,” the New Jersey department of public health said in a statement. “This type of heat can quickly become life-threatening to humans and to animals of all ages.”

 

The National Weather Service (NWS) has said cool air from the north in the coming days is going to lower some of the most extreme temperatures in the region, including New Jersey. The Fifa World Cup final is scheduled to be held in the New Jersey city of East Rutherford on 19 July.

Elsewhere, a heat-related death was reported in Cook county, Illinois, Natalia Derevyanny, a government spokesperson, told NBC News. The cause of that death was recorded as organic cardiovascular disease – with heat stress as a contributing factor.

Hinds county in Mississippi reported the death of 74-year-old Mitchell Ray Cooley due to heat exposure on Thursday, state officials said. Cooley had been reported missing, and his body was found the next day behind a gas station, the county coroner said in a statement.

 

People watch the Sail 250 parade of ships at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on 4 July. Photograph: Adam Gray/Reuters

 

“Mr Cooley suffered from a medical condition that impaired his judgment,” the coroner’s office said. “Based on the investigative findings, scene examination, and subsequent evaluation, the cause of death has been determined to be weather-related heat exposure. At this time, there is no indication of foul play.”

Meanwhile, on 27 June, Martha Irene Van Egmond, 83, died in Bolton, Mississippi, after falling in her garden. When her husband, Rick, tried to help her up, he fell too. The couple were unable to get up and spent hours in the heat.

Rick Van Egmond said he and his wife called out for help, and eventually two men from a nearby apartment complex came – but it was too late for Martha. She died surrounded by flowers, doing what she loved, he said to local news outlet WAPT.

Jeramiah Howard, Hinds county’s chief death investigator, attributed her death to the heat combined with her age, WAPT reported.

A person cools off with water from an open fire hydrant during a heatwave on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, on 2 July. Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images

As Donald Trump spoke during rain-dampened celebrations in Washington DC on Saturday, emergency services there had treated 51 people with heat-related issues as of 8pm ET, with 12 taken to nearby hospitals, according to local emergency response officials.

Other events scheduled for Saturday – including the Independence Day parade in DC – were cancelled amid the blistering heat. Among other weather-related disruptions, Trump’s so-called Great American State Fair on the National Mall also temporarily closed down on Friday after reports that 44 visitors had been treated for heat-related illnesses.

The worst of the heat started moving out of the US’s north-east and midwest regions by Sunday, shifting farther south into the mid-Atlantic and south-eastern parts of the country.

But scientists warn that heatwaves with extreme temperatures are indications that the world must lower the greenhouse gas pollution driving the global climate crisis.

The NWS is urging the public to avoid heat sickness by drinking plenty of fluids as well as staying out of the sun and in air-conditioned environments. Officials have also asked people to check on relatives and neighbors

Hottest May day for nearly 80 years as parts of UK hit heatwave threshold. Highest temperatures of 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as Kew Gardens in London reaches 32.3C

 

The sun rising over London, seen from Richmond Park, on Sunday. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/AFP/Getty

 by Hayden Vernon and Nadeem Badshah

England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their highest temperatures of 2026 on Sunday, which was also the UK’s hottest May day for at least 79 years.

Kew Gardens in west London recorded 32.3C (90.1F), Cardiff 27.4C and Armagh 23.4C.

Scotland reached 23.5C in Edinburgh, just 0.1C below the record of 23.6C set in Aboyne on 1 May.

The first area of the UK to hit the heatwave threshold was Santon Downham in Suffolk, which reached the criteria of recording temperatures of more than 27C for three consecutive days at 11.30am on Sunday.

The other areas officially in heatwave conditions are Heathrow, Kew Gardens and Northolt in London, Benson in Oxfordshire, Brooms Barn in Suffolk, and High Beach and Writtle in Essex.

Temperatures could rise again on Monday, with possible highs of between 33C and 34C.

The climate crisis is increasing the likelihood of extreme heat. Large parts of western Europe are experiencing similar peaks, and the French national weather agency, Météo-France, said periods of exceptional heat are to be expected “more and more often and more and more prematurely, and to be more and more intense”.

Margate beach was packed with sunbathers as temperatures climbed over the bank holiday weekend. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Breaking the 32.8C May record is around three times more likely now in our current climate than it would have been in natural climate conditions before the Industrial Revolution.

 

“What was around a one-in-100-year event is now around a one-in-33-year event.”

The Met Office sets the criteria for a heatwave, which vary by region. In London and its surrounding counties, a heatwave is defined by temperatures reaching or exceeding 28C on three consecutive days.

For many other areas of England and south-east Wales, the threshold is 26C or 27C. For the rest of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England it is 25C.

 

UK heatwave thresholds

Heatwave conditions are met when daily maximum temperatures meet or exceed the local heatwave temperature threshold for at least three consecutive days

 

Saturday was the UK’s first 30C day of the year, the earliest date that temperature has been reached since 1952.

Sunbathers flocked to beaches across the UK, and Lord’s cricket ground relaxed its strict dress code for its members’ pavilion. The Marylebone Cricket Club usually requires spectators there to wear lounge suits or tailored jackets and ties.

 There were also drinks breaks at the League One playoff final between Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County at Wembley and during the Premier League games as the top-flight football season concluded.

A dog cools off at water fountains in Battersea Park, south-west London. Photograph: James Manning/PA

People living in three villages in Kent experienced no water or low pressure for a second day. The affected areas were Charing, Challock and Molash near Ashford, where people first reported supply problems on Saturday evening.

South East Water apologised and said the issue had been resolved overnight, but that supply problems had resumed on Sunday as a result of pumping station issues.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued amber heat alerts on Friday morning for the East Midlands, the West Midlands, the east of England, London and the south-east.

Swimmers at Charlton Lido in south-east London. Photograph: Yann Tessier/Reuters

The alerts will remain in place until 5pm on Wednesday, meaning “an increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 years or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases”, according to the UKHSA website.

There were also pleas for caution around open bodies of water such as lakes and quarries to reduce the risk of drowning.

According to 2024 data from the National Water Safety Forum, 61% of accidental water-related fatalities occurred in inland waterways, including rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs and quarries. May that year had the largest number of deaths at 28.

The data also suggests many such deaths occur among people who are not intending to enter the water.

Prof Mike Tipton, the chair of the forum and an expert in water safety and cold water shock, said: “We encourage people to think before entering the water, and if they decide to go in, go to a supervised location, enter the water slowly to reduce the cold shock response and keep breathing under control.

“If people get into trouble, they should ‘float to live’ – roll on to back, tilt head back to keep airways out of the water, do as little sculling arm and leg exercise as necessary to stay afloat until breathing is back under control.”

Tipton also advised against entering the water to rescue someone struggling because doing so often leads to two people in trouble. People should call the emergency services, tell the person in the water to float and throw them a flotation aid if possible, he said.

Last night police were searching for a boy, 15, who had not been seen since going into a lake in Lincoln. Emergency services were called to Swanholme Lakes in the afternoon after reports the boy had got into difficulty in the water.

Australia sweats through hottest August on record with temperatures 3C above average

Crowds on Sydney's Bondi beach beat the heat on the last day of winter 2024. BoM data showed average temperatures across Australia in August were 3.03C above the long-term average. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images
 

The 2024 winter was the second hottest on record since weather data collection began in 1910

 

Australia recorded its hottest August on record, with the national temperature 3C above average, as September kicked off with total fire bans in parts of New South Wales on Monday.

Bureau of Meteorology data showed average temperatures across the nation in August were 3.03C above the long-term average, easily beating the previous 2.56C record set in 2009.

The 2024 winter also ranked as the second hottest on record going back to 1910, the data showed, coming in at 1.48C above average. The hottest winter on record was 2023 at 1.54C above average.

 On Monday, the NSW Rural Fire Service issued total fire bans for greater Sydney and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region.

 

Climate scientists have described the extreme temperatures across Australia since the middle of August as “gobsmacking”.

While high-pressure systems over the continent kept skies clear and pushed temperatures higher, climate scientists said the extreme nature of the heatwave was likely caused by global heating.

Dr Simon Grainger, a senior climatologist at the bureau, said: “When we get these significant heat events, they can break records by quite a large margin.”

He said ocean temperatures around the continent had been very high in July and this had “set the groundwork” for the warmer conditions.

Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland all set record winter high temperatures during the second half of August. Large parts of the country saw daily and nighttime temperatures more than 10C above average.

The hottest winter temperature on record for the country, 41.6C, was set on 26 August at Yampi Sound in the remote Kimberley area.

In NSW on Monday, the fire danger rating was high for greater Sydney and extreme for the Illawarra area.

 The NSW RFS inspector, Ben Shepherd, said it was not unusual to have elevated fire risk around this time of year.

“This is showing that while we did have wet weather initially, it quickly swung the other way to being very dry and warm. But it is the wind that is driving the fire danger up.”

There should be a return to moderate fire risk for the rest of the week, he said.

He said the past three years were relatively benign for fire weather, but the weather bureau forecasts were showing warmer than average conditions were likely for the next three months.

“That means now is the time to set up and get your property prepared and have your fire plans in place,” he said.

Later this week the Australasian Fire And Emergency Services Authorities Council is expected to release an outlook on the risk of bushfires around the country for spring.

Martianization - Delhi temperature hits 50.5C as India’s capital records hottest day

Children run behind a truck spraying water along a street in Delhi. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

 

Authorities warn of water shortages as temperatures reach nine degrees higher than expected

Temperatures in Delhi have hit a record high of 50.5C (122.9F), as authorities warned of water shortages in India’s capital.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which reported “severe heat-wave conditions”, recorded the temperature in the suburb of Mungeshpur on Wednesday afternoon, breaking the landmark 50C measurement for the first time in the city.

The temperature was more than nine degrees higher than expected, the IMD said, and came on the second day of record-breaking heat. On Tuesday a high of 49.9C had been hit in Mungeshpur and Narela, breaking the 2002 record of 49.2C.

 

The IMD warned of the heat’s impact on health, especially for children, elderly people and those with chronic diseases. The alert warns there is a “very high likelihood of developing heat illness and heat stroke in all ages”, with “extreme care needed for vulnerable people”.

India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures. Years of scientific research have found the climate crisis is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.

 City authorities warned of the risk of water shortages as the capital swelters. The water minister, Atishi Marlena, called for “collective responsibility” in stopping wasteful water use, the Times of India newspaper reported on Wednesday.

 

“To address the problem of water scarcity, we have taken a slew of measures such as reducing water supply from twice a day to once a day in many areas,” Atishi said, the Indian Express reported.

“The water thus saved will be rationed and supplied to the water-deficient areas where supply lasts only 15 to 20 minutes a day,” she added.

The heatwave has been building up inexorably for weeks, but even so residents were shocked by conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. People told of fingers being scorched from touching the steering wheel of a car, and tap water was coming out at boiling temperatures.

“Having a shower is almost a waste of time,” said Aruna Verma, a chemistry teacher. “You come out of it and instantly you are a sweaty mess again.”

Newspapers have published lists of does and don’ts based on doctors’ advice. People have been urged to stay indoors and wear light, loose cotton clothes – advice that is impossible for much of the city’s workforce to follow, including labourers and market stall sellers.

Construction workers have mostly stopped working between noon and 4pm. “The metal rods I’m working with are too hot to touch. Even if I restart work at 5pm, the rods are burning and the heat from the sparks makes it worse,” said Babu Ram, a welder working on a block of flats in New Friends Colony, south of the city centre.

Sameer Prakash, a vegetable vendor, typically stands outside next to his cart until about 2pm, waiting for customers to emerge from their air-conditioned homes.

He alternates between splashing water on the vegetables – to stop them wilting – and on his head, to avoid heatstroke.

“What’s the choice? No one is going to feed my children unless I take some money home are they? Work is work. It just has to be done,” he said. “The sun just kills the vegetables so I buy less than usual from the wholesale market because if I don’t sell them, they will rot.”

It has been gruelling too for politicians addressing rallies in the blistering heat as part of the ongoing general election, and their audiences. Political parties have urged those coming out to bring wet towels, extra water to wet the towels again once they dry, and packets of oral rehydration salts.

Delhi orders schools to close early for holidays as temperatures hit 47.4C

Many blame the soaring temperatures on scorching winds from Rajasthan state, where temperatures on Tuesday also reached 50.5C.

At the SMS hospital in Rajasthan’s capital, Jaipur, so many bodies of casualties of the heat have arrived at the mortuary that its capacity has been exceeded. Police in the city say many of the victims are poor labourers, who have no choice but to work outside, and homeless people.

Rajasthan’s desert region of Phalodi holds the country’s all-time heat record, hitting 51C in 2016.

Indians who can afford to escape the baking cities have fled to cooler places in the mountains. But even alpine-like Kashmir, known as the “Switzerland of the east”, has witnessed an unprecedented heatwave.

At the same time, West Bengal and the north-eastern state of Mizoram have been struck by gales and lashing rains from Cyclone Remal, which hit India and Bangladesh on Sunday, killing more than 38 people.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the cyclone was “one of longest in the country’s history” and blamed climate change for the shift.