With the south of Europe experiencing record-breaking heat waves and half of the centre and northwest under water, there seems no end to the damage and destruction. Severe droughts and temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade have claimed hundreds of lives in parts of southeast Europe, while thousands have seen their homes wrecked by severe storms, heavy rains and flooding in Germany, Austria and Great Britain.

In July alone, Greece has seen the break out of more than 1,450 forest fires in what is the country's hottest summer for a century. Villages have been evacuated, homes destroyed, and firefighters in both Crete and on the island of Evia have lost their lives trying to control the fires. The death toll across in  Hungary reached 500 this week with many more in hospital suffering from high blood pressure and hyperthermia. The emergency services have been on high alert throughout June and July and on Monday Romania declared "Code Red" after forecasters predicted temperatures of 45 degrees for the coming week. Citizens are being advised to stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day and any outdoor work has been banned during these times.

The Greek Health Ministry have activated emergency strategies to deal with potential power cuts and mass hospitalisation. In June Greece's electricity consumption hit 10,000 megawatts in June, thanks to the increased use of air conditioning, causing blackouts across Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and several of the islands.

The weather is also likely to have repercussions in the agricultural industry. According to the European Commission, the 2007 harvest is predicted to be 1.6 per cent below the average for the last five years. Romania and Bulgaria look to be the most affected with Romania's wheat yield predicted to be down by over 20 per cent and Bulgaria's barley production by 14.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the worst floods Britain has seen in 60 years have left thousands without drinking water or electricity. Hundreds of Oxford residents were forces to take refuge in the local football stadium after the Thames broke its banks and towns and cities across Gloucestershire have had to be abandoned as lifeboats become the main traffic and boats replace cars in local car parks. Likewise, in central Europe the flooding of the River Elbe, the Vltava and the famous Danube has claimed at least twenty five lives and forced mass evacuations in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

For many, the extreme weather conditions spell global warming and climate change but a survey by the UK's Channel 4 television revealed that only 25 per cent believed that climate change was the answer to Europe's weather while an astonishing 61 per cent wrote it off as a freak event.

Francesca Cookney
25 July 2007

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