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Temperatures of over 40 degrees have been registered in parts of Spain, Italy, Greece and some Balkan states.Picture credit: Ed Dunens 

Temperatures of 40 degrees and more have been registered in many parts of Southern Europe, including Greece, Spain and the Balkan states.

The hot weather looks likely to continue into this week. Storms, flash floods and wild fires are increasingly likely due to the heatwave.

Dozens of forest fires have broken out in Greece and Albania, which has asked the European Union for help.

In Mallorca, the temperatures did not fall below 30°C in the early morning hours this weekend, and fans were sold out.

These high temperatures do not just affect the electricity networks, crops and forests, but also people, especially those with existing health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart conditions or asthma.

The Lancet has released a study in August 2017 which found that “weather-related disasters could affect about two-thirds of the European population annually by the year 2100 (351 million people affected per year)”. Southern Europe is likely to be particularly affected because of an increased number of heatwaves.

Between 1981 and 2010, around 3,000 Europeans lost their lives each year because of weather disasters.

The study, which was funded by the European Commission, projected:

“If no adaptation measures are implemented, this number could rise substantially in the coming decades, to reach 32 500 deaths by the period 2011–40 (about a ten-times increase), 103 300 (48 300–179 300) by 2041–70 (about a 30-times increase), and 152 000 (80 500–239 800) by 2071–100 (about a 50-times increase).”

The study also found:

“The substantial rise in risk of weather-related hazards to human beings due to global warming, population growth, and urbanisation highlights the need for stringent climate mitigation policies and appropriate adaptation and risk reduction measures to minimise the future effect of weather-related extremes on human lives.”