Everything about 2003 European Heat Wave totally explained
The
2003 European heat wave was one of the hottest summers on record in
Europe. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with
drought to create a
crop shortfall in Southern Europe. 35,000 people died as a result of the heat wave.
Country-by-country
France
14,802 people, mostly elderly, died in
France from heat, according to the country's largest funeral service. France doesn't commonly have very hot summers (seven days with temperatures of more than 40°C (104 F) were recorded in
Auxerre,Yonne between July and August 2003), particularly in the northern areas. As a consequence, most people don't know how to react to very high temperatures (for instance, with respect to
rehydration), and most homes and retirement homes are not equipped with
air conditioning. Furthermore, while there are contingency plans for a variety of catastrophes and natural events, high heat had never been considered a major hazard and so such plans for heat waves didn't exist at the time.
The
heat wave occurred in August, a month in which many people, including government ministers and physicians, are on vacation.
Many bodies were not claimed for many weeks because relatives were on holiday. A refrigerated warehouse outside
Paris was used by undertakers as they didn't have enough space in their own facilities. On
3 September 2003, 57 bodies still left unclaimed in the
Paris area were buried.
That shortcomings of the nation's health system could allow such a death toll is a matter of controversy in
France. The administration of
President Jacques Chirac and
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin laid the blame on
- families who had left their elderly behind without caring for them;
- the 35-hour workweek, which affected the amount of time doctors could work;
- family practitioners vacationing in August (Many companies traditionally closed in August, so people had no choice about when to vacation. Family doctors were still in the habit of vacationing at the same time);
The
opposition as well as many of the
editorials of the
local press have blamed the administration. Many blamed Health Minister
Jean-François Mattei for failing to return from his vacation when the heat wave became serious, and his aides for blocking emergency measures in public hospitals (such as the recalling of physicians). A particularly vocal critic was Dr
Patrick Pelloux, head of the union of emergency physicians, who blamed the Raffarin administration for ignoring warnings from health and emergency professionals and trying to minimize the crisis.
Mattei lost his ministerial post in a cabinet reshuffle on
31 March 2004.
United Kingdom
In the
UK, a record-breaking 38.5 °C (101.4 °F) was recorded in Brogdale Orchards, one mile southwest of
Faversham,
Kent on Sunday,
10 August 2003. The previous highest recorded temperature was 37.1 °C (98.8 °F), recorded in
Cheltenham.
A retrospective analysis published in 2005 showed that the heat wave caused 2,139 excess deaths in the UK for the period 4 to 13 August 2003.
Italy
Nearly 3,000 people died in
Italy, where temperatures varied between 38 and 40 degrees
Celsius in most cities for weeks, according to eurosurveillance.org. Other sources reported a much lower figure, not only for Italy but for other countries as well.
New Scientist magazine reported 4,200 deaths in Italy and Spain attributable to the 2003 heatwave.
The Guardian reported 1,000 deaths in Italy, 4,000 in Spain.
Portugal
There were extensive forest fires in
Portugal. Five percent of the countryside and ten percent of the forests were destroyed, an estimated 4,000 km². Eighteen people died in the fires. Temperatures reached as high as 48°C in Amareleja. The first of August was the hottest day in centuries, with night temperatures well above 30°C. A freak storm developed on the southern region during that dawn. A hot strong saharian wind blew during the subsequent days of that week.
Spain
There were 141 deaths in the country. Temperature records were broken in various cities including
Jerez 45.1 °C,
Badajoz 45.0 °C,
Huelva 43.4 °C,
Gerona 41 °C,
Burgos 38.8 °C,
San Sebastián 38.6 °C,
Pontevedra 36 °C, and
Barcelona 36 °C. In other cities of southern
Spain, record temperatures were not recorded but the temperatures were higher than 40 °C:
Murcia 41.8 °C,
Toledo 42.0 °C,
Cordoba, 46.2 °C, and in
Seville, it was 47 °C.
Germany
In
Germany, a record temperature of 40.4 Celsius (104.7 Fahrenheit) was recorded at
Roth bei Nürnberg,
Bavaria. With only half the normal rainfall, rivers were at their lowest this century, and shipping couldn't navigate the
Elbe or
Danube. Around 7,000 people (mostly elderly) died during the 2003 heatwave in Germany.
Switzerland
Melting
glaciers in the
Alps caused avalanches and flash floods in
Switzerland. A new nationwide record temperature of 41.5 Celsius (106.7 °F) was recorded in
Grono,
Graubünden.
Effects on crops
Crops suffered from drought in Southern Europe, but conversely in the north they actually did very well.
Wheat
The following shortfalls in
wheat harvest occurred as a result of the long drought.
France - 20%
Italy - 13%
United Kingdom - 12%
Ukraine - 75% (Unknown if affected by heatwave or an early freeze that year.)
Moldova - 80%
Many other countries had shortfalls of 5-10%, and the EU total production was down by 10 million tonnes, or 10%.
Grape
The heat wave greatly accelerated the ripening of grapes; also, the heat dehydrates the grapes, making for more concentrated juice. By mid-August, the grapes in certain vineyards had already reached their nominal sugar content, possibly resulting in 12°-12.5° wines (see alcoholic degree). Because of that, and also of the impending change to rainy weather, the harvest was started much earlier than usual (for example in mid-August for areas that are normally harvested in September).
It is predicted that the wines from 2003, although in scarce quantity, will have exceptional quality, especially in France. The heat wave made Hungary fare extremely well in the Vinalies 2003 International wine contest: a total of 9 gold and 9 silver medals were awarded to Hungarian winemakers.
Causes of the heat wave
The heat wave has inevitably been linked to unprecedented weather extremes in other parts of the world taking place in the same general period (such as the worst drought in recorded history in Australia during the previous Australian summer, and massive floods in the USA) and attributed to global warming. A December 2004 article in the journal Nature claimed man made climate change to be a contributing factor. Global dimming has also been linked to the heatwave, the theory being that Europe's reduced pollution levels since the turn of the century have reduced dimming's masking effect on global warming.
The massive death toll in France has been blamed on France's labour laws which contributed to severe staff shortages in the public health and aged care systems during the country's summer holidays, as well as a lack of air-conditioning in French medical facilities. The government of Jacques Chirac and his Minister for Health, Jean-François Mattei, were condemned for failing to issue warnings and not recalling staff back to work as news of mortality spikes were being reported from the health surveillance authorities.
Effects on the Sea
The anomalous overheating affecting the atmosphere, also caused anomalies on sea surface stratification in the Mediterranean Sea and on the surface currents also. A seasonal current of the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS), resulted modified in its path and intensity. The AIS is important for the reproduction biology of important pelagic commercial fish species, so the heatwave may have influenced indirectly the stocks of these species. Further studies will be addressed in this direction.
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