The event marks the 2003 European heat wave as the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere. This is some 8% of the total deaths in this 3 months period. [37] The warmest summer temperature was set on 17 July in the northern city of Piteå with 32.8 °C (91.0 °F), which although it is very hot for such a northerly coastal location, was largely unrelated to the latter central European intense heat wave. Most nights in France are cool, even in summer. In Findel, Luxembourg, the temperature reached 37.9 °C (100.2 °F) between 8 and 12 August, making it the country's highest temperature since records began in 1947. In raw numbers, climate change caused 64 of the 315 deaths that London experienced during the heat wave. The heat is expected to rise further in many countries over the next three days, meteorologists warn. France has adopted strict heat wave guidelines since the summer of 2003, when between 15,000 and 19,000 people died as a result of extreme temperatures – many of … in mid-August for areas that are normally harvested in September). Heat waves occur infrequently in Europe and can significantly affect human health, as witnessed in summer 2003. A new nationwide record temperature of 41.5 °C (106.7 °F) was recorded in Grono, Graubünden.[27]. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The United Kingdom experienced one of its hottest summers on record with temperatures well above average. Much of the heat was concentrated in France, England and Spain where nearly 15,000 people died. This image shows the differences in day time land surface temperatures collected in the two years by the Europe heat wave The severe heat wave began in Europe in June 2003 and continued through July until mid-August, raising summer temperatures 20 to 30% higher than the seasonal average in Celsius degrees over a large portion of the continent, extend-ing from northern Spain to the Czech Republic and from Germany to Italy (see map below). The AIS is important for the reproduction biology of important pelagic commercial fish species, so the heatwave may have influenced indirectly the stocks of these species. [citation needed], Not everyone blamed the government. "The 2003 European heat wave has caused about 70,000 fatalities. "The French family structure is more dislocated than elsewhere in Europe, and prevailing social attitudes hold that once older people are closed behind their apartment doors or in nursing homes, they are someone else's problem," said Stéphane Mantion, an official with the French Red Cross. The wines from 2003, although in scarce quantity, are predicted to have exceptional quality, especially in France. A particularly vocal critic was Dr. Patrick Pelloux, head of the union of emergency physicians, who blamed the Raffarin administration for ignoring warnings from health and emergency professionals and trying to minimize the crisis. During the 2003 heat wave in Europe, three days after the start and until four days after the conclusion of the heat wave, 70.000 excess deaths across the entire continent were counted 43, 44 . On 8 August, a temperature of 37.7 °C (99.9 °F) was recorded, and 12 August had a temperature of 37.2 °C (99.0 °F).[16]. Only the deep southern Sweden saw any type of heatwave effect in the country, with the average high of Lund for August being 23.9 °C (75.0 °F), which is a very warm temperature average for August. As a result, temperatures there peak in July if it is a warm summer. 32. [12][13] Five percent of Portugal's countryside and 10% of the forests (215,000 hectares[5] or an estimated 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi)), were destroyed, and 18 people died in the flames. Britain is also set to swelter in temperatures above … Until the 2003 event, heat waves were a strongly underestimated risk in the French context, which partly explains the high number of victims.[10]. PARIS (AP) _ France's leading undertaker estimated the country's death toll from the summer heat wave at 15,000 on Tuesday, far exceeding the official tally and putting further pressure on the government to improve its health care system. France: More than 10,000 dead in record heat wave By Francis Dubois 22 August 2003 The unprecedented heat wave in Europe has caused many deaths across … This means an excess of around 400–600 deaths in 2003, compared to the average summer of 2000. Last year's hot summer in Germany has been estimated to have caused at least 1,000 excess deaths." 2003 heat wave were elderly brings another dimension. Remarkably, Scandinavia saw a cooler August in 2003 than the previous year when comparative temperatures were very high for the latitude, as the hot air parked over continental Europe. By Camille Feanny and Kiesha Porter CNN According the UK Met Office, temperatures in southwest Wimbledon reached 96.3°F, the highest temperature ever recorded during the Wimbledon tennis tournament. At dawn that same day, a freak storm developed in the southern region of the country. [17] A further research of INE estimated a 12,963 excess of deaths during summer of 2003. The total number of heat-related deaths that occurred during the summer 2003 heat wave is unknown. This led to statistically improbable survival rates with the weakest group having fewer deaths than more physically fit persons; most of the heat victims came from the group of elderly persons not requiring constant medical care, and/or those living alone, without frequent contact with immediate family. Europe’s 2003 heatwave resulted in the premature deaths of an estimated 70,000 people. This report reviews the current knowledge about the effects of heat-waves, including the physiological aspects of heat illness and epidemiological studies on excess mortality, and makes recommendations for preventive action. In the first quantitative climate change attribution assessment, researchers found that human influence at least doubled the risk of a heatwave exceeding the threshold passed during the extreme European heat wave of 2003. [26], In Germany, shipping could not navigate the Elbe or Danube, as a result of low water levels. [7] Because of the usually relatively mild summers, most people did not know how to react to very high temperatures (for instance, with respect to rehydration), and most single-family homes and residential facilities built in the last 50 years were not equipped with air conditioning. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/European-heat-wave-of-2003, NASA - Earth Observatory - European Heat Wave. As a massive heat wave bears down on Europe in coming days, France is hoping to avoid the devastating death toll it suffered in 2003, during the hottest spell in centuries. In Amareleja, one of the hottest cities in Europe, temperatures reached as high as 48 °C (118 °F). [8], The high number of deaths can be explained by the conjunction of seemingly unrelated events. In addition, high water temperatures and low water levels shut down French nuclear power facilities just when demand for electricity peaked. These divergent figures indicate that a global assessment of excess mortality is difficult, if not impossible, because no standardized estimates across European countries have been made for the 2003 heat wave . "These thousands of elderly victims didn't die from a heat wave as such, but from the isolation and insufficient assistance they lived with day in and out, and which almost any crisis situation could render fatal. 268 R. Garc´ıa-Herrera et al. Omissions? The weather station of Catenanuova, in Sicily, had a monthly mean of 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) in July 2003, with an absolute maximum of 46.0 °C (114.8 °F) on 17 July, with monthly mean maximum temperatures of 36.0 °C (96.8 °F), 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) and 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) in June, July, and August 2003, respectively. As a consequence, houses (usually of stone, concrete, or brick construction) do not warm too much during the daytime and radiate minimal heat at night, and air conditioning is usually unnecessary. [5], Melting glaciers in the Alps caused avalanches and flash floods in Switzerland. Gobierno de España", http://www.clima.ibimet.cnr.it/attachments/Sommario%20Clima%202003-Toscana.pdf, "(Analisi meteo-climatica inverno 2002/2003)", https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/100-f-britains-hottest-day-99871.html, "Great weather events: Temperatures records fall in summer 2003", "Met Éireann – Monthly Weather Bulletin (June 2003)", "Met Éireann – Monthly Weather Bulletin (July 2003)", "Met Éireann – Monthly Weather Bulletin (August 2003)", "Temperature & Cloud statistics for Sweden – August 2003", "Temperature & Cloud statistics for Sweden – July 2003", "Effects of 2003 heatwave on the Sea Surface in Central Mediterranean", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2003_European_heat_wave&oldid=992212374, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017, Articles with failed verification from September 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2007, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 December 2020, at 02:32. 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