When a heat wave in Europe killed over 70,000 people in 2003, the event was considered extremely rare.

Today, scientists warn that such a phenomenon will occuri every ten years.

Last year’s June, July and August were the warmest on record.

August 2023 was average 1.5 degrees warmer than the same month between 1850 and 1900.

Things could turn out to be even worse this year.

The bad news is on our screen.

At Saudi Arabia, the temperature “hit” 50 degrees in the shade and 1,300 pilgrims lost their lives. On June 23, 100 million Americans received a dangerous heat warning, with Baltimore and Philadelphia approaching 40 degrees.

India saw 40,000 cases of heatstroke from March to mid-June, with Delhi experiencing 40 consecutive days of temperatures above 40 degrees. Heat is the new normal.

the good news is that, despite rising temperatures, deaths can be prevented and economic disruption minimized.

Rich, hot places like Phoenix, Kuwait and Singapore are adapting, just as Europe did after that heatwave twenty years ago.

The rest of the world should learn from their example.

The basic idea is simple: get the world away from the sun and into the cool.

Extreme heat can cause heat stroke, heart problems and dehydration.

Uncommon populations are also more vulnerable.

The same goes for the elderly, whose health is more fragile and it is difficult for them to take refuge in better conditions. The poor, who are more likely to work in the sun and live in houses without air conditioning, suffer the most.

Air conditioning, when affordable, is part of the answer.

When powered by renewable energy, it’s not bad for the climate and can save lives.

A study in the Lancet showed that in 2019 heat deaths worldwide reached 345,000 over 65s and that without air conditioning this number would have been 50% higher.

It is therefore wrong for environmentalists to reject this technology. Because the organizers of the Paris Olympics decided not to install air conditioning in the athletes’ wings, many teams will bring their own machines.

Rethinking how cities are built can also help.

Architects in Singapore are designing buildings to circulate air throughout the city, while a tree-planting campaign provides shade and retains moisture. But it takes time and money to redesign a city. There are three faster and cheaper alternatives.

One is the greater flexibility of schools and workplaces.

States such as California and Washington provide shade and water breaks to workers who work outdoors in extreme heat.

Accordingly, students should be given the opportunity to work from home in such cases.

The second solution is to create more cool public spaces to provide relief and shelter.

Some cities in the US, but also in India and Vietnam, have them “cooling centers”, which are usually normal air-conditioned buildings which may temporarily open to everyone. Even simple adjustments can make a difference: when we paint a roof white, we lower the temperature inside by a few degrees.

Finally, governments and citizens need to be better prepared, especially in places unfamiliar with high temperatures.

After the 2003 heatwave, France developed a national heatwave plan, resulting in 90% fewer deaths in the 2019 heatwave than in 2003.