The latest heatwave to hit Europe is merely a "dress rehearsal," with worse to come, the director of the World Health Organization's European region said on Tuesday.
"The summers ahead will be harder," Hans Kluge predicted in a statement. He warned that Europe was warming at more than twice the global average and said that heatwaves were no longer one-off events but recurring crises that were getting more frequent and stronger and were lasting longer.
"Every summer we fail to prepare for them is a summer we pay for in lives," Kluge said.
He noted that in France, emergency medical calls had risen by up to 50% in some cities and that in London, the ambulance service had seen the highest number of life-threatening emergency calls ever recorded in a single day.
Spain's mortality monitoring system has already estimated more than 300 heat-associated excess deaths in just a few days. Italy reported five deaths in 24 hours.
But Kluge also noted that "prevention works" and pointed to successes. Barcelona has expanded its climate shelters to include libraries, civic centres, parks and pharmacies.
Paris has activated its welfare-check register for older and vulnerable residents and restricted public alcohol sales.
Italy has introduced restrictions on outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day in some regions, with furlough arrangements so that workers do not lose income.
Kluge called for greater efforts. "More than half of European countries still do not have a comprehensive heat-health action plan in place. That needs to change," he said.
