Climate change tripled death toll of latest European heatwave, first ever rapid study finds
EuroNewsJUL 2025
Study: Climate Change Tripled European Heat Wave Deaths
Study: Climate Change Tripled European HeatwaveHeat Wave Deaths, Study Finds
Above: People use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun during a heat wave in Athens, Greece, on July 8, 2025. Image credit: Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Spin
TheThis recent European heatwave washighlights primarilythe causeddeadly byreality naturalof weatherclimate patterns,change withthat's globalalready warmingkilling playingthousands onlyacross aEurope. modestThe rolefossil infuel theindustry's extremecontinued temperatures.pollution Professoris Cliffa Massdeath notessentence thatfor thevulnerable morepopulations, extremeparticularly aolder weather eventadults, thewho greatermake theup contributionnearly 90% of naturalvictims. variabilityOil versusand human-causedgas warming.corporations Themust high-pressurebe ridgeheld systemfinancially responsibleaccountable forthrough thetaxes heatand showsfines noto evidencecover ofthe resultingsoaring fromhealth globalcosts warmingtheir emissions incur.
The recent European heatwave was primarily caused by natural weather patterns, with global warming playing only a modest role in the extreme temperatures. The more extreme a weather event, the greater the contribution of natural variability versus human-caused warming. The high-pressure ridge system responsible for the heat shows no evidence of being caused by global warming, which cannot be attributed to human activities — the reliability of climate models is questionable.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 50% chance that the 2˚C climate threshold will be crossed before December 2043, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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All rights reserved.
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