Eastern and Southern Europe is enduring a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius in many countries including Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, and Romania. Driven by hot air from North Africa, this prolonged heatwave has raised significant threats for residents and has strained the cities’ mechanisms for protection and climate mitigation. As the heatwaves expose the vulnerabilities of urban infrastructures, cities across Europe are striving to implement measures to address these challenges.
Failing Infrastructures
Extreme weather conditions put a strain on infrastructures, leading to failures which in turn put even more people at risk. As countries like Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and others in the Balkan peninsula faced record temperatures for prolonged periods of time, residents consumed record amounts of electricity as they switched on air conditioning units. This has led to major power outages, worsened by the overheating of grid components such as transmission lines and transformers. This leads to economic disruptions, social unrest, and potential fatalities.
Related Article
Urban Spaces for an Overheated Planet: 12 Projects that tackle this Global ChallengeIn addition to the electrical infrastructure, other systems are also under strain, as roads, railways, and runways can be put out of action. In Hungary, record-high temperatures have warped an airport runway, while in Romania, railway traffic has suffered, as trains were restricted to 20-30 kilometers per hour due to high temperatures on the track, leading to delays that are forcing people to stay in overheated stations for unexpectedly long periods. Softening pavements can also disrupt automobile traffic, while old buses and trams that are not fitted with adequate ventilation and air-conditioning pose threats to travelers.
Temporary protective Measures
As Greece reported temperatures over 40 degrees for 11 straight days, authorities have introduced measures to protect tourists and residents. Among them, the Acropolis, the country’s most visited attraction, has closed off during the hottest hours of the day, and outdoor construction work and meal delivery have been suspended. More measures are available for cities, like the installation of temporary climate shelters where residents can take refuge and seek help, following the example of Barcelona, or offering applications informing citizens of the city areas most affected by the heat, as the Paris OASIS project strives to do.
Long-Term Investments
In addition to the temporary measures that can help mitigate some of the threats of urban heat, long-term investments are needed to prepare for climate breakdown risks. The European Environment Agency’s first European Climate Risk Assessment highlights that Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, with extreme weather potentially threatening health, safety, energy, food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, and financial stability. While it’s not the only measure, cities have a role to play in the mitigation strategy, as demonstrated by initiatives in Paris, Athens, and Barcelona. Easter Europe still has deficiencies that could increase these risks. The city of Belgrade, Serbia, is one example. With only 2.83% of green areas in the urban center, the city already registered temperatures 7 degrees higher compared to its suburban territories, as large-scale construction projects have contributed to worsening the effects of the heat wave.
The Safety of Urban Waterways
During times of extreme weather, the urban waterways can provide some relief in the condition that they do not raise additional threats to public health and safety. If made accessible and safe, the rivers, lakes, and seafronts of cities can offer an opportunity for community gathering, swimming, and playing without high costs for the residents, making them an important resource in the efforts to mitigate the effects of urban heat. Intense urbanization however has threatened the quality of the waters, but across Europe, cities have strived to clean up their waterways. A recent report from the European Environment Agency shows that most of the bathing water sites in Europe are safe, with 85% of Europe’s popular bathing waters meeting “excellent” quality standards and only 1.5% rated as poor. Still, climate change raises new threats even in this chapter, as Croatia registered record-high water temperatures in the Adriatic Sea reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city of Dubrovnik.
