The current heatwave in Europe, which has led to several fatalities, is the “latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet,” says United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell.
This week, temperatures in France, Britain and Spain broke records.
Other nations also issued high-level alerts due to the intense heat, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
Stiell pointed out that the heatwave has the “fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it,” blaming humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels for worsening extreme heat events.
Deaths in Spain amid extreme heat
In Spain alone, 212 deaths were reported between Sunday and Wednesday, all possibly linked to the heatwave.
The country experienced 28.08 degrees Celsius on Monday and 28.17C on Tuesday, the highest daily average temperatures since at least 1950.
The heat spike led to the highest alerts in parts of Northern Spain, including Cantabria and the Basque Country, where the temperature reached beyond 40C, despite typically being spared from the worst heat.
On Thursday, the majority of weather warnings were withdrawn, with the north having the lowest yellow level in effect, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom marked the highest ever temperature with 36.1C, hotter than the 35.6 °C recorded in 1976.
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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.
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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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Elan Castanares 
Newsjustnews writers 
Mary Mae Balasanos