The World Health Organization has warned that Europe must prepare better for further severe heatwaves. The next heatwave has already begun forming over the Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures in Portugal and southern Spain are expected to reach 43 degrees Celsius this week, while France and the Benelux countries are bracing for a new surge in heat.
Hans Kluge, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, said in a statement issued yesterday that Europe is not ready to face these waves. Kluge noted that fewer than half of the countries in the European region have clear plans for managing heat-related health risks when temperatures rise — plans that the WHO calls "National Heat-Health Action Plans".
The head of the WHO's European office stressed that all countries must adopt such plans, covering early warning through meteorological services, outreach to the most vulnerable population groups, and coordination among public health, occupational health, social care, housing, and urban planning authorities. Kluge said:
"Countries that have effective plans know in advance who bears which responsibility, which population groups are most at risk, and at which heat threshold each level of the response is activated."
He added: "Work is now under way on two fronts: addressing the failures of recent weeks before the next heatwave strikes, and building health systems that do not merely respond to severe heatwaves but are prepared for them in advance."