Heat waves

When one thinks of a heat wave one does not think of a catastrophic super storm with the ability to kill tens of thousands. Yet, recent heat waves have been just that—lethal forces of nature that have ended tens of thousands of lives prematurely. The reason for this is a lack of infrastructure in affected areas. One of the best examples of this destructive force is the European heat wave in the summer of 2003.

“Officials struggled to keep an accurate count of the dead. But a tally of government records estimate the death toll from between twenty to thirty-five thousand people—the majority dying in the hottest period during the first two weeks in August. “[i] The hardest hit age group was the elderly. France lost “more than 14,000 of it mostly elderly population in the unrelenting heat recorded as high as 104 degrees—temperatures that didn't cool down even at night.”[ii] This was the hottest summer recorded in the northern hemisphere. Clearly heat waves, such as the aforementioned, are incredibly dangerous for the elderly and those in weak health.

What is most alarming is that scientists believe that events like this heat wave will become more commonplace as we see our climate change. Science has shown that as we continue to emit more greenhouse gases these summers will double in likelihood. Climate models suggest that by 2050 summers like this would occur every second year and by the end of the century they would be regarded as a cool summer.[iii]

As these heat waves become more common they will have huge effects on our environment. These effects include the soil losing moisture, which will bring about droughts and dust bowls—killing crops and livestock. These will have massive effects on the local and global economy and food availability.  

Not only do these severe heat waves pose an issue for our environment, but also we are clearly going to face issues with at risk groups living in regions affected by these severe storms. As Europe continues to have extremely warm summers, infrastructure needs to be put in place to protect the elderly and those in failing health; or, those considered to be in these at risk groups are going to have to leave Europe in search of a moderate climate. Europe has a huge elderly population, where will these environmental refugees go? How will this mass exodus affect the environment of the relevant area to which they immigrate? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves when we consider possible solutions to this issue.

Also consider, should these at risk groups not have the infrastructure in place to protect themselves from these heat waves nor have the ability to leave Europe; being ill or elderly would become a death sentence during the summer months. Losing twenty to thirty-five thousand lives each summer due to extreme heat is unacceptable. I submit that it is societies duty to take care of these at risks groups. It is for this reason that emergency plans need to be created and implemented at the national level in each European nation. It must be, at least, three fold; first, plans must be put into effect to ensure that residences have adequate infrastructure (I.E. air conditioning, etc.) to ensure a moderate climate during these heat waves, second, should a residence become uninhabitable a community center should be created which has the ability to maintain a moderate climate; lastly, a specialized task force, that is specially designed to assist with those who are ailing from these extreme weather events, must be created.      

It is true that issues like these will not be solved easily, nor can we say with certainty that there even is a solution to these problems. By no means is my plan a perfect; however, it is a good starting point. These severe storms have already been put into motion through the continued emission of greenhouse gases in our global past. We will see climate change manifest itself. The question is to what extent and how can we mitigate the risks.

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[i] http://articles.cnn.com/2004-08-02/tech/heatwave.europe_1_heat-wave-heat-related-problem-stagnant-air?_s=PM:TECH

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Extreme Events Due to Human-Induced Climate Change by John F. B. Mitchell et. al.