2022 European Heatwaves

From June to August 2022, persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe, causing evacuations and killing tens of thousands. These heat waves were the deadliest meteorological events in 2022. The highest temperature recorded was in Pinhão, Portugal, on 14 July.

In June 2022, temperatures of were recorded in parts of Europe, with most severe temperature anomalies in France, where several records were broken.

A second more severe heatwave occurred in mid-July, extending north to the United Kingdom where temperatures surpassing were recorded for the first time. The heatwaves were part of climate change in Europe.

A third heatwave began in August with parts of France and Spain expected to reach temperatures as high as . A prolonged hot period also hit the United Kingdom.

Although temperatures in most places in Europe subsided in August, a smaller heatwave impacted France on 12 September, with temperatures reaching .

As a result of the heatwaves, widespread droughts occurred across the continent.

Eurostat reported that the European Union saw 53,000 excess deaths in July, some of which may have occurred because of the heat wave. The excess death rate was several times higher than in July 2020 or July 2021, a statistic notable due to the COVID-19 pandemic having taken place in Europe during those years. The worst increases were seen in Spain and Cyprus.

The total damage of the heatwave reached €40 billion (US$40.2 billion).

Meteorology

The June heatwave was the result of an interaction among the high pressures that generate atmospheric stability; Tropical Storm Alex; the strong sunshine of the boreal summer; and an air mass emanating from North Africa that had entered the Iberian Peninsula loaded with suspended dust that caused haze in the centre and south of the peninsula.

Climatologists linked the extreme heat to the impact of climate change, and experts predict that changes in the jet stream as a result of climate change will cause heatwaves with increasing frequency in Europe. Furthermore, due to the jet stream, the increase in heatwaves for European countries is three-to-four times higher than other countries in northern mid-latitudes, such as the United States.

Estimates of death toll

Reports of the death toll varied significantly. In July 2023, researchers from Barcelona Institute for Global Health estimated 61,672 heat-induced problems between 30 May and 4 September in a finding published in '' Nature Medical''. The study gathered data from 35 countries with a combined population of 543 million people. A statistical framework was paired against historical meteorological records to observe the trend of deaths. The researchers said that they used weekly mortality data to develop their model which may not allow for short-term changes and hence may underestimate the actual number of deaths. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea, especially Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, experienced higher death rates. In November 2022, Reuters stated that there were 20,000 "excess" deaths recorded; deaths which officials did not directly attribute to heat but may be heat-induced. In November 2023, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health revised their number to over 70,000 "excess" deaths after developing a new method to calculate the mortality rate. The new research utilised daily temperature and mortality data as opposed to the previous research method using weekly data. The researchers claimed the previous figure underestimated the true number by 10.28 percent.

By country

Andorra

On 15 June, Andorra's weather agency, the National Meteorological Service of Andorra, issued a "significant danger weather warning" due to heat. The weather warning was expected to last until 27 July with 24 and 25 July being the days in which the agency expected to raise the warning to "extreme danger weather warning". In the nation's capital, Andorra la Vella, temperatures were recorded to be over , far higher than the average for the time of year.

Austria

On 30 June, a temperature of was recorded in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, this was also Austria's heat record for June.

On 5 August, a temperature of was recorded in Austria's capital city Vienna.

Belgium

On 19 July, the temperature reached in Uccle, with the highest temperature that day being in Kapelle-op-den-Bos.

Croatia

The heat dome which caused extreme temperatures in north-west Europe was expected to affect Croatia from 21 to 24 July. Temperatures peaked on 23 July, reaching in cities including Zagreb, Osijek, Karlovac, Slavonski Brod, Knin. The highest temperature of was recorded in Valpovo. Temperatures exceeding were also recorded, but only at unofficial weather stations. The heat was ended the same day by a cold front in continental Croatia, but higher temperatures continued in the southern part of the country, which had been suffering a drought since 2021.

Denmark

On 20 July, it reached in Abed, Stokkemarke Parish, Lolland Municipality, breaking the all-time temperature record for that month. Copenhagen measured its record highest temperature when it reached , breaking the previous 2006 record. In Vordingborg it reached , and stayed above for 4 hours, another Danish record.

Finland

Finland was hit by the heatwaves in late June and early July. The highest temperature of was measured on 29 June in Utsjoki.

France

June heatwave

On 16 June, Météo-France activated its red alert in 12 departments and its orange alert in another 25 because of the heatwave. The departments on red alert were mainly those located in the south-west, along the Atlantic coast and the south; the heat was generally less severe further north and east. The heatwave was the earliest in the year since records began and marked the fourth time that a red heat alert had been issued since the protocol was activated after the 2003 heatwave.

On 17 June, the red alert was activated in 14 more departments, adding the Hautes-Pyrénées and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the 12 of the previous day. The orange alert was activated in 56 more departments.

July heatwave

An estimated total of more than were burnt by wildfires in Gironde, causing a total of near 37,000 people to be evacuated.

On 20 July, a baby died in an overheated car in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Authorities reported the deaths of two others in work-related accidents, which was raised to four on 28 July, all likely attributed to the extreme heat.

Temperatures exceeded even in Brittany, which is unprecedented. It reached in Biscarrosse ( Landes), in Cazaux (Gironde), in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée