Future Heat Waves in Different European Capitals Based on Climate Change Indicators

Jürgen Junk, Klaus Goergen and Andreas Krein
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Jürgen Junk: Environmental Research and Innovation, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 4422 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Klaus Goergen: Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-3, Agrosphere) Research Centre, 52428 Jülich, Germany
Andreas Krein: Environmental Research and Innovation, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 4422 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: Changes in the frequency and intensity of heat waves have shown substantial negative impacts on public health. At the same time, climate change towards increasing air temperatures throughout Europe will foster such extreme events, leading to the population being more exposed to them and societies becoming more vulnerable. Based on two climate change scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and 8.5) we analysed the frequency and intensity of heat waves for three capital cities in Europe representing a North–South transect (London, Luxembourg, Rome). We used indices proposed by the Expert Team on Sector-Specific Climate Indices of the World Meteorological Organization to analyze the number of heat waves, the number of days that contribute to heat waves, the length of the longest heat waves, as well as the mean temperature during heat waves. The threshold for the definition of heat waves is calculated based on a reference period of 30 years for each of the three cities, allowing for a direct comparison of the projected changes between the cities. Changes in the projected air temperature between a reference period (1971–2000) and three future periods (2001–2030 near future, 2031–2060 middle future, and 2061–2090 far future) are statistically significant for all three cities and both emission scenarios. Considerable similarities could be identified for the different heat wave indices. This directly affects the risk of the exposed population and might also negatively influence food security and water supply.

Keywords: climate change indices; health risks; heat waves; RCP4.5; RCP8.5; regional climate projections (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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