Extreme heat plagues southern Europe and the southern United States.
Erik Kjellström, professor of climatology at SMHI, now warns that the heat waves will be even worse in the future.
– High temperatures in connection with high humidity cause that, it can become really dangerous to health, he says.
Recently, several countries in southern Europe have been affected by extreme heat. In both Italy and Greece, weather warnings have been issued due to the heat.
As climate change becomes greater, more people are at risk of being affected. That’s what Erik Kjellström says to TV4 Nyheterna.
– Areas that already today have problems with high heat during parts of the year are areas that will get worse. We have already seen that the heat waves are becoming more intense and extreme, he says.
“Can become really dangerous to health”
The Mediterranean area, the southern United States, western Africa and parts of South America are some examples of places where the heat waves have major consequences.
– It is often high temperatures in connection with high humidity that cause it. That’s when it can become really dangerous to health, he says.
Climate adaptation, measures to reduce the impact on people, is necessary, according to Erik Kjellström.
– We have to adapt because the climate is changing, but you can’t adapt as much as you like. There is a limit to climate adaptation, he says.
“Despite climate adaptation, we are vulnerable”
He brings up the EU’s climate adaptation measures introduced in the early 2000s as an example.
– Despite that, it is estimated that over 60,000 people died during the heat waves in southern Europe last year. Despite the climate adaptations, we are vulnerable, he says.
The professor of climatology emphasizes that it is difficult to speculate on exactly what the future weather will look like.
– There are different scenarios for the future given different developments around emissions. It is possible to alleviate the whole thing by reducing emissions, but there is also a risk that there will be higher temperatures if you do not succeed in doing so.