The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Increasing health risks due to intensified heatwaves, WMO
As global temperatures reach unprecedented levels, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday warned of an increased risk of death as intense heatwaves continued to grip parts of Europe, Asia, North Africa and the United States.
“Heatwaves are amongst the deadliest natural hazards, with hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year. It's a rather poorly understood hazard,” said John Nairn, WMO’s Senior Extreme Heat Advisor. “Heat is a rapidly growing health risk due to increased or rapid urbanization, the increasing extreme temperatures and an ageing population.”
According to WMO, this year’s extensive and intense heatwaves are alarming - but not unexpected - as they are in line with forecasts. Scorching conditions “are not your normal weather systems of the past” and are with us “as a consequence of climate change”, Mr. Nairn insisted. “You are losing the North Pole ice and that is reinforcing that mechanism. It will continue and it will continue for some time.”
Temperatures in North America, Asia and across North Africa and the Mediterranean will be above 40° C for a prolonged number of days.
Phoenix in Arizona has suffered temperatures of 46,7 °C during the day and overnight temperatures of 32.2° C. The italian island of Sardinia is expected to see a high of 46 °C this afternoon and Spain has faced consecutive heat waves with temperatures yesterday reaching 44°C.
Highlighting how serious the impacts of heatwaves are on people, economies, the natural built environment, WMO’s Mr. Nairn noted that last summer’s European heatwaves claimed an additional 60,000 lives “That number is considered to be quite conservative,” he said, adding that the European toll happened data comes despite the fact that the continent has some of the strongest early warning systems and heat-health action plans in the world.
“We are seeing continuing growth in the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves. And this is entirely consistent with the science of global warming and (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) IPCC reports. These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves,” said Mr. Nairn.
The WMO expert added that “the recently declared El Niño is only expected to amplify the occurrence and intensity of extreme heat events. So, we're in for a bit of a ride, I'm afraid. And they will have quite serious impacts on human health and livelihoods.”
Replying to a journalist’s question on how the current heatwave had developed, Mr. Nairn pointed to “parked weather systems that accumulate a lot of sunshine and heat in one location that moves extremely slowly…You have to reverse it. You have to do climate repair to change it. So, it is global warming and is going to continue for some time.”
Overnight temperatures are expected to reach new highs in future, according to WMO, which is particularly concerning because repeated high night-time temperatures provide no respite to vulnerable people who face an increased risk of heart attacks and death.
Describing the heatwave as an “invisible emergency”, Panu Saaristo, Emergency Health Unit Team leader from the international Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that it was crucial to look out for people who were vulnerable because of poor health, but also their socio-economic conditions and living arrangements, “which can also induce risks”.
Low-income neighbourhoods in European cities currently bear the brunt of this invisible emergency, the ICRC official added, noting that heatwaves “also impact other areas of society through reduced economic output, strained health systems and even power outages”.
WMO stressed that worldwide, more intense and extreme heat is unavoidable and that it is imperative to prepare and adapt as cities, homes, workplaces are not built to withstand prolonged high temperatures. Vulnerable people are not sufficient aware of the serious health risk that heat poses to their health and well-being.
-ends-
- Exterior medium shot: UN Palais with flags
- Wide shot: speakers and mediator behind panel at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – John Nairn, Senior Extreme Heat Advisor at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Heat waves are amongst the deadliest natural hazards, with hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year. It's a rather poorly understood hazard. Heat is a rapidly growing health risk due to increased or rapid urbanization, the increasing extreme temperatures and an aging population.”
- Medium shot: attendee taking a picture, speaker in the background
- SOUNDBITE (English) – John Nairn, Senior Extreme Heat Advisor at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The impacts on people, economies, the natural built environment are very serious. A recent study has calculated that in Europe last summer, 60’000 additional people died due to extreme heat, and that number is considered to be quite conservative by the experts who did the work as well as government.”
- Medium shot: speakers and mediator behind panel at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – John Nairn, Senior Extreme Heat Advisor at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “We are seeing continuing growth in the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves. And this is entirely consistent with the science of global warming and IPCC reports. These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves. The recently declared El Niño is only expected to amplify the occurrence and intensity of extreme heat events. So we're in for a bit of a ride, I'm afraid. And they will have quite serious impacts on human health and livelihoods.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference, screen with speakers
- SOUNDBITE (English) – John Nairn, Senior Extreme Heat Advisor at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “It's very wobbly and it ends up with parked weather systems that accumulate a lot of sunshine and heat in one location that moves extremely slowly. These are not your normal weather systems of the past. They have arrived as a consequence of climate change. You are losing the North Pole ice and that is reinforcing that mechanism. It will continue and it will continue for some time. You have to reverse it. You have to do climate repair to change it. So it is global warming and is going to continue for some time.”
- Medium shot: attendee at the press conference, screen with speakers
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Panu Saaristo (from Budapest), IFRC Emergency Health Unit Team leader: “During these times, it’s crucial to pay attention to the people that face the biggest risk. They are not only people that are vulnerable because of the health conditions, socio-economic conditions and living arrangement can also induce risks. So low-income people in the continent’s cities really bear the brunt of this invisible emergency. And these heatwaves also impact other areas of society through reduced economic output, strained health systems and even power outages.”
- Medium shot: attendee at the press conference, screen with speakers
- Close shot: attendees typing
- Medium shot: attendees and camerawoman at the press conference
- Medium shot: attendee at the press conference, screen with speakers
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.