EU plans Heatwave Plan after 35,000 deaths in Europe's brutal summer
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the European Union must develop new tools to deal with a worsening climate after a scorching summer dried up rivers and led to tens of thousands of deaths across the bloc, from Portugal to Hungary.
In her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, von der Leyen proposed a new European Heatwave Plan and a future European firefighting fleet of aeroplanes, saying the summer’s extreme weather had exposed the scale of the challenge facing Europe.
At present, the EU operates a small fleet of its own, while also coordinating a network of aircraft, water trucks and volunteers that move across the 27-nation bloc as fires break out.
"This summer was the summer of truth. Almost no part of our continent was spared," von der Leyen said. "Key rivers like the Danube, the Rhine or the Garonne are disappearing before our eyes. More than 35,000 additional deaths during the heat waves. Care homes and hospitals dangerously overheated."
The extreme heat, which hit Europe exceptionally hard and early this year, appears to have caused a much sharper rise in deaths than expected. Von der Leyen’s figure of 35,000 is triple the estimates of excess deaths put out by monitoring groups in July.
According to a study by the World Weather Attribution group, the heat and humidity that broke many records during the summer would not have been possible without climate change.
"All of this is a mere preview. These were the hottest summer months ever, but probably the coolest of the years to come," von der Leyen said. "Science is clear: Europe is warming at double the global rate."
While praising those who battled wildfires this summer, von der Leyen said she had asked emergency responders and senior firefighters to "think bigger and learn faster" to design "new capabilities" for the EU to tackle climate instability.
When she praised Danish helicopter pilot Rune Kyndal, who died in August while fighting fires in Greece, the assembly broke into applause. "Rune gave his life to save others and today, all of Europe owes him," von der Leyen said.
Von der Leyen’s address linked Europe’s deadly summer of heat, drought and wildfires to the need for stronger EU-level planning and firefighting capacity, as she warned that the continent is warming faster than the rest of the world.
