Long summer seasons in European cities: Enduring heat spells now persist for up to 5 months in urban areas such as Athens and Tirana.
The heat seasons in several European cities are extending beyond traditional summer months, according to a recent study by Climate Resilience for All. The analysis, which looked at temperature data from 2019 to 2023 across 85 cities worldwide, reveals that cities like Athens, Greece, and Tirana, Albania, are now enduring periods of extreme heat for up to five months a year.
Athens, Greece, stands out as one of the European cities with the longest heat season, with high temperatures lasting around 145 days. Tirana, Albania's capital, follows closely with a heat season of 143 days. Other cities, such as Paris and Lisbon, experience heat seasons of nearly three months and around 136 days, respectively.
The urban heat island effect, where cities become hotter than surrounding rural areas due to dense infrastructure and limited green space, is a key factor worsening heat stress across Europe's urban centers. This effect is exacerbated by climate change, which the study found at least doubled the number of days classified as "extreme heat" in 195 of the 247 countries and territories they analyzed compared to the previous average.
Cities never designed for heat now face new heat shocks and stresses, according to Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All. In response to this growing threat, governments' planning and response measures for heat are either nonexistent or woefully inadequate for the scale of the crisis, McLeod notes.
To mitigate the impact of this extended heat threat, strategies like increasing urban greenery, improving building designs, designating cool refuge areas, and developing warning systems are essential. It is also crucial to mainstream awareness and understanding of extreme heat, so that governments, businesses, and employers manage their risks and impacts with the urgency these conditions demand, as stated by Baughman McLeod.
The 'summer season' many of us once knew is gone, as stated by Kathy Baughman McLeod. The study by Climate Resilience for All claims that some cities in Europe now endure high temperatures for up to five months a year. As Europe grapples with the reality of extended heat seasons, the challenge for governments and city planners lies in protecting people from increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves.
Science reveals that some European cities, such as Athens, Greece, and Tirana, Albania, are now experiencing heat seasons lasting up to five months a year due to climate change, according to a recent study by Climate Resilience for All.To combat this extended heat threat, it is essential to implement strategies such as increasing urban greenery, improving building designs, and developing warning systems in environmental science, as urged by Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All.
