Reader Q&A live: we answer your questions about Europe’s hellish week of heat

Europe is experiencing an intense heatwave. While conditions are severe, the continent has become significantly better at surviving extreme heat. In twenty oh three, a similarly powerful heatwave killed seventy thousand people. If such a heatwave hit today, scientists estimate the death toll would be seventy-five percent lower—thanks to early warning systems, heat action plans, and behavioral adaptation. According to Guardian environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan, this represents meaningful progress even as temperatures continue rising. The picture is complicated by politics. Climate denial has dropped to single digits across Western Europe, yet far-right parties engaging in that denial are polling above twenty percent. Center-right parties are also actively campaigning to weaken climate commitments. But Niranjan notes solutions are already underway across different political systems—from autocracies building renewables in developing countries, to companies capturing carbon from cement production, to cities converting parking lots into bike lanes.

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