Between June 20 and 28, a powerful heat wave hit Europe, creating the conditions that have fueled the wildfires now raging across large swathes of France and Spain. Soon after the June heat wave, city officials in Rome announced a new, scientifically informed operational strategy to prepare for a hotter world. As with other such efforts in Europe, the heat plan includes emergency responses for the vulnerable, green public spaces, more water fountains, climate shelters, investments in grid resilience and so forth. This is not the Eternal City’s first heat initiative.

As Europe counts over 16,000 excess deaths due to this summer’s soaring temperatures, the European Union’s health security committee is calling for a fundamental shift in how…

Hundreds of thousands of people across Europe have evacuated their homes