The death tolls from this year's early-summer heatwaves are now emerging: nearly 2,900 people in the UK and at least 35,000 across Europe are believed to have lost their lives. The August heatwaves' death tolls have yet to be counted. In many ways, these deaths are akin to those from other natural disasters, such as the hundreds who died in Nepal's flooding last month or during the 2024 floods in Valencia, Spain. Yet, these events are not processed in the same way. Increasingly deadly heatwaves are the most direct and damaging effect of the climate crisis felt in Europe, but they are rarely framed as such.
Why Heatwaves Are Underreported
There are several reasons for this disparity. Heatwaves unfold over longer periods than other disasters, making them less dramatic and less visible. The majority of victims are elderly or otherwise vulnerable, and their deaths often take weeks or months to be catalogued and reported. This delay diminishes the immediacy of the threat. While heatwaves may never provoke the same visceral shock as earthquakes or tornadoes, it is still possible to shift public perception, which could save lives and mitigate damage.
Improving Reporting and Public Awareness
The first change should be in how heatwaves are reported. The tendency to use images of "fun in the sun" should be balanced with serious examination of disrupted transit and the dangers of living in sweltering buildings. Making heatwave deaths more granular with personal detail could make the immediate fallout more legible. Governments should also report death tolls and other fallout closer to the actual event, as was done during the Covid-19 pandemic when UK statistics were tweaked to reflect weekly Covid-specific deaths, which the media and public followed closely.
Fostering Collective Responsibility
More could be done to make heatwaves feel like a major collective experience. Research shows that the British public increasingly regards heatwaves as a serious problem linked to the climate crisis. However, most people believe they are personally unlikely to suffer health consequences. Work by the British Red Cross found that a majority of those aged over 75 did not consider themselves vulnerable to extreme heat. Better communication of risks and adaptation measures is needed, but fostering a sense of community responsibility is equally important. The UK government has an excellent system to warn specific sectors, such as medical and care services, about extreme heat. This messaging should be expanded, and voluntary and local groups should be encouraged to help people at risk. The pandemic offers a model here, with the Scottish and Welsh governments fostering a sense that "we are all in this together."
Learning from Seville's Heatwave Naming System
At a society-wide level, a pilot project in Seville, Spain, to name specific heatwaves and categorise them like hurricanes has made early warnings more effective and provided an anchor for news coverage. This simple intervention should be considered in the UK. Changing the way we talk about extreme heat may seem minor, but if the public can be helped to recognise heatwaves as major disasters, lives would be saved and people would be convinced that adapting to the climate crisis is urgent and necessary.
