What Is Driving the Deadly Nordic Heatwave as Scientists Warn ‘No Country Is Safe’?

Last month, countries known for their cool climates — Norway, Sweden and Finland — reeled under an unprecedented heatwave. Finland witnessed 22 consecutive days above 30 degrees Celsius, while Sweden recorded 10 tropical nights, where temperatures didn’t drop below 20 degrees Celsius, according to a report published by The Guardian on Thursday. Weather observers described the Nordic heatwave as both relentless and unprecedented.

Climate Change Made It Much Worse

World Weather Attribution (WWA), a scientific collaboration, found that the historic heatwave was made at least 10 times more likely and approximately two degrees Celsius hotter due to human-induced climate warming. In fact, without global heating, such an event would likely have been impossible, Euro News reported.

Impacts Hit Human Health and Wildlife Hard

Hospitals have been overwhelmed, with surgeries cancelled, and some forced to shut down due to the soaring temperatures, the report said. The heat drove more people into water, resulting in at least 60 drownings, even as wildfires raged and toxic algae blooms appeared in lakes and seas. Emergency services were severely strained as reports of visitors fainting at summer events emerged, per The Guardian.

According to the report, wildlife, too, was pushed to the limit as a reindeer that was caught off-guard by the heat was seen wandering into towns seeking relief, prompting traffic warnings for road tunnels.

Vulnerable Communities and Infrastructure Strained

Maja Vahlberg of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre told the media network, “This July reminded us that in the north, heat is not a distant threat but is seeping into hospitals, care facilities and homes. … Our ageing population is increasingly susceptible to dangerous heat.”

She also noted the toll on Indigneous Sami reindeer herders, calling the heat a human rights issue as reindeer dying in the heat “threaten traditional livelihoods”. 

The Bigger Picture: Accelerating Risks Ahead

Climatologist Friederike Otto of Imperial College and WWA told the publication that even relatively cold Scandinavian countries are “facing dangerous heatwaves today with 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming, as no country is safe from climate change.”

WWA warned that if global warming hits 2.6 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, then Nordic heatwaves like this will become “five times more frequent”.

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