Europe weathers the storm

Copenhagen – Extreme weather such as heatwaves and floods have cost Europe almost €510 billion (about R8.9 trillion) and around 142 000 lives over the past 40 years, according to a new report published this week.

In its study, the European Environment Agency (EEA) called for continued adaptation measures at both individual and state level.

A small number of extreme events, about 3% of total, were alone responsible for about 60% of the financial damages incurred from 1980-2020, the report showed.

When it came to loss of human lives, heatwaves accounted for 91%, with the heatwave experienced in the summer of 2003 killing around 80 000 people.

Similar heatwaves after 2003 caused significantly lower fatalities “as adaptation measures were taken in different countries and by different actors”, such as the installation of air conditioners, the EEA noted in a statement.

Globally, the World Meteorological Organisation estimates that the number of weather-related disasters has increased over the past 50 years, causing more damage but fewer deaths.

In Europe, the EEA said the data from the past 40 years does not allow for a definite conclusion to be drawn about whether the increase is due to climate change, because of the very irregular damage recorded in different years.

“All the hazards we describe as weather are influenced by climatic conditions. This said, that is not the same as saying they are all influenced by climate change,” EEA expert Wouter Vanneuville told AFP.

Recent studies, notably the work of the IPCC [Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change], indicate that the frequency and severity of events such as drought and forest fires are easier to link to climate change, he said.

For others, such as hailstorms, there is still a lack of evidence.

“For some types, like non-tropical storms, the climate signal in Europe is unclear, so it is uncertain if they will increase or not,” he said.

“But for others – like droughts, not only in the Mediterranean but over most of Europe – weather will intensify based on climate predictions,” Vanneuville said. –