A climate expert and member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Dr Parvana Valiyeva, has warned that the deadly heatwaves that swept across Europe in June and early July underscore the escalating human cost of climate change, calling for urgent investments in climate adaptation and stronger efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking in an interview with Nipashe Biz Media, Valiyeva said the prolonged period of extreme temperatures was not an isolated weather event but part of a long-term warming trend driven largely by decades of fossil fuel emissions, particularly from coal-fired power generation.
“The prolonged heat reflects a long-term climate trend driven by decades of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from coal-powered energy,” she said.
Valiyeva noted that while reducing carbon emissions remains critical to slowing global warming, governments must also intensify efforts to prepare societies for the increasingly severe impacts of climate change.
She urged European countries to strengthen climate adaptation and mitigation strategies through increased public investment, stronger environmental regulations, and improved public health measures.
According to her, vulnerable groups, including older adults, children, pregnant women, and people living with underlying health conditions, face the greatest risks during prolonged periods of extreme heat and should be prioritised in emergency response plans.
“For millions of people, soaring temperatures have disrupted daily life, placing older adults, children, pregnant women, and those with underlying health conditions at greater risk of heat-related illnesses,” she said.
She added that governments should provide targeted social protection programmes and expand public health interventions to reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths.
Valiyeva warned that decisions taken by governments today would determine how effectively future generations are protected from increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves.
“Bold action taken today is critical to protecting future generations from the growing impacts of climate change,” she added.
The latest warning comes after Europe experienced one of its most intense early summer heatwaves on record between late June and early July, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in several countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and parts of France.
The prolonged heat prompted authorities across southern Europe to issue red weather alerts, close schools and tourist attractions, restrict outdoor work in some regions, and activate emergency health services to protect vulnerable populations.
Wildfires also spread rapidly across parts of the Mediterranean, forcing evacuations in several communities while placing additional pressure on emergency responders.
Scientists have increasingly concluded that human-induced climate change has made extreme heat events significantly more likely and more intense. According to climate researchers, rising global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions have increased the frequency, duration, and severity of heatwaves across Europe over recent decades.
The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service have repeatedly warned that Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average, making the continent one of the fastest-warming regions in the world.
Climate experts say that without rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with stronger adaptation measures, extreme heat events are expected to become more frequent, longer lasting, and more deadly, posing growing risks to public health, food security, water resources, infrastructure, and economic productivity.
By Dare Akogun
