A situation almost without precedent in meteorological terms
Uma onda de calor sem precedentes varreu a Europa Ocidental neste mês de julho de 2022, transformando o continente em um forno que já ceifou quase 600 vidas — a maioria idosos — e forçou mais de 17 mil pessoas a abandonar suas casas. França, Espanha, Portugal e Reino Unido enfrentam, cada um à sua maneira, o mesmo desafio que a humanidade há muito adia: o de conviver com um clima que já não obedece às médias históricas. O que arde nas florestas e nos termômetros é também um espelho do tempo que se perdeu em hesitações.
- Com quase 600 mortos em poucos dias e termômetros marcando 49°C em Madri, a onda de calor europeia deixou de ser uma anomalia estatística para se tornar uma crise humanitária em curso.
- Mais de 25 mil hectares de floresta foram consumidos pelas chamas em Portugal, Espanha e França, enquanto 17 mil pessoas foram retiradas de suas casas e campings às pressas.
- Governos mobilizaram milhares de bombeiros, abriram abrigos de emergência e acionaram solidariedade internacional — aviões gregos e italianos chegaram para ajudar a França —, mas os incêndios seguem fora de controle em dezenas de focos.
- O Reino Unido, que jamais registrou 40°C em sua história, emitiu alerta vermelho para segunda e terça-feira, enquanto autoridades orientam a população a evitar o metrô e proteger crianças e idosos.
- Meteorologistas advertem que o pior ainda não passou: as temperaturas devem permanecer elevadas além do fim de semana, com novos recordes históricos prestes a cair em vários países.
Uma onda de calor de proporções históricas transformou a Europa Ocidental em um forno durante a segunda semana de julho de 2022. Por dias seguidos, as temperaturas se mantiveram acima dos 40°C — chegando a 49°C em Madri e a 46,3°C em Lousã, Portugal. O saldo humano é pesado: quase 600 mortos, a grande maioria idosos, e mais de 17 mil pessoas evacuadas de suas casas e áreas turísticas.
Na França, mais de mil bombeiros foram mobilizados na região de Gironda, onde as chamas já destruíram 10.500 hectares desde terça-feira. Mais de 14 mil pessoas — moradores e turistas — foram retiradas de residências e campings. O presidente Macron destacou que a primavera excepcionalmente seca fez o país queimar três vezes mais floresta do que no mesmo período de 2020, e agradeceu o apoio de aeronaves gregas e italianas enviadas em solidariedade europeia.
A Espanha foi o país mais castigado: ao menos 360 mortes foram atribuídas ao calor, e cerca de 20 grandes incêndios permaneciam fora de controle no domingo. Em Málaga, 3 mil pessoas foram evacuadas dos arredores de Mijas. Os reservatórios do país estão em apenas 44% da capacidade — bem abaixo dos 66% habituais para esta época do ano.
Em Portugal, 238 mortes foram registradas entre 7 e 13 de julho. Quase todos os distritos do país estiveram sob alerta vermelho. O primeiro-ministro António Costa cancelou uma visita de Estado a Moçambique para coordenar pessoalmente a resposta à crise. Um piloto morreu quando sua aeronave caiu enquanto combatia incêndios no norte do país. Mais de 30 mil hectares queimaram desde o início do ano.
O Reino Unido, que nunca registrou temperaturas acima de 38,7°C, se prepara para um marco inédito: previsões apontam para 40°C na segunda e terça-feira. O governo realizou reunião de emergência no sábado, emitiu alerta vermelho para grande parte da Inglaterra e orientou londrinhos a evitar o metrô. Escolas e casas de repouso receberam instruções especiais de proteção.
Na Grécia, bombeiros combatiam um incêndio na ilha de Creta, com sete comunidades rurais evacuadas por precaução. Os meteorologistas não veem alívio no horizonte imediato: novos recordes históricos de temperatura devem ser registrados nos próximos dias em vários pontos do continente.
Across Western Europe, a heat wave of historic proportions has turned the continent into a crucible. For a week, temperatures have hovered around and above 40 degrees Celsius—in Madrid, a thermometer read 49. The toll is mounting: nearly 600 people dead, the vast majority of them elderly. Seventeen thousand have been forced from their homes. Wildfires, fed by the heat and drought, have consumed more than 25,000 hectares of forest. And meteorologists say the worst is not yet over.
France has mobilized more than a thousand firefighters in its southwestern Gironda region, where blazes have already scorched 10,500 hectares since Tuesday. Over 14,000 people—residents and tourists alike—have been evacuated from homes and campgrounds. Emergency shelters have opened. A medical and psychological support cell has been established. President Emmanuel Macron noted on Saturday that the spring had been exceptionally dry and that France has already burned three times more forest this year than it had by this point in 2020. He credited European solidarity for the arrival of Greek aircraft on Friday and Italian planes expected in the coming days. In Paris and across the interior, temperatures are forecast to exceed 40 degrees in the coming days. Thirty-eight of France's 96 departments have been placed on orange alert.
Spain has been hit harder. The heat wave has claimed at least 360 lives there, with temperatures reaching 45.7 degrees Celsius. On Sunday, about 20 major fires remained uncontrolled across the country. In Galicia, more than 4,000 hectares burned. In the province of Málaga, around 3,000 people were evacuated from the area around Mijas, a town popular with northern European tourists, after a massive fire broke out nearby. In Extremadura, helicopters dropped water on flames that destroyed another 3,000 hectares and created thick plumes of smoke. The drought compounding the heat has left the country's reservoirs at just 44 percent capacity—well below the typical 66 percent for this time of year.
Portugal has recorded 238 heat-related deaths between July 7 and 13, again predominantly among the elderly. Nearly every district in the country was under red alert—the most severe warning issued by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere. The city of Lousã, in central Portugal, reached 46.3 degrees on Wednesday. André Fernandes, the national civil defense commander, said on Saturday that the country faced a situation "almost without precedent in meteorological terms." Prime Minister António Costa canceled a state visit to Mozambique to remain and oversee the fire response. More than 30,000 hectares have burned since the start of the year. In the north, a pilot died when his aircraft, which had been helping fight the fires near the Spanish border, crashed. By Sunday morning, only one major fire remained active, in the far north, and it was described as "practically controlled," though much of the country still faced maximum or very high fire risk.
The United Kingdom, which has never recorded temperatures above 38.7 degrees Celsius, is bracing for an unprecedented milestone. The government held an emergency meeting on Saturday to coordinate its response. A red alert for extreme heat has been issued for much of England on Monday and Tuesday, when temperatures could reach 40 degrees for the first time in recorded history. The Met Office has warned of additional health risks. Authorities have advised Londoners to avoid the Underground and regional trains unless absolutely necessary. Schools and nursing homes have been instructed to take protective measures, as children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat.
In Greece, firefighters continued battling a blaze that began Friday morning on the island of Crete, prompting the evacuation of seven rural communities as a precaution. The heat wave shows no sign of breaking. Meteorologists predict that temperatures will remain elevated well beyond this weekend, with new records likely to fall in the days ahead.
Citas Notables
The spring was very dry and this year has already burned three times more forest than 2020 by this point— French President Emmanuel Macron
We face a situation almost without precedent in meteorological terms— André Fernandes, Portuguese national civil defense commander
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does this heat wave seem different from others Europe has experienced?
The scale and the speed. Temperatures this high, sustained across this much territory, for this long—it's not something the infrastructure or the public health systems were built to handle. And it's happening all at once, across multiple countries, which means resources get stretched thin everywhere simultaneously.
The death toll is nearly 600. Why are the elderly so vulnerable?
Heat doesn't kill everyone equally. Older bodies regulate temperature less efficiently. Many live alone, without someone checking on them. Some can't afford to run air conditioning. And in places like Spain and Portugal, where the heat came suddenly and intensely, there wasn't time for people to adapt or for warnings to reach everyone.
The fires are destroying tens of thousands of hectares. Is that the heat itself, or something else?
It's the combination. The heat dries everything out—vegetation, soil, everything becomes kindling. But it's also the drought. Spain's reservoirs are at 44 percent capacity. There's no moisture in the landscape to resist the flames. A single spark spreads fast.
Britain has never hit 40 degrees. What does that mean for a country not prepared for it?
It means the systems fail in ways people don't expect. The Underground gets too hot to operate safely. Roads buckle. Power grids strain. And psychologically, it's a threshold—the first time something happens, people don't know how to respond. There's no playbook.
The meteorologists say it will get worse before it gets better. What does that mean for the next week?
More deaths, almost certainly. More evacuations. The fires will continue to spread unless there's rain, and there's no rain in the forecast. And the heat records will fall—in the UK, in France, probably elsewhere. This isn't the peak yet.