The 2003 European heat wave was one of the hottest summers on record in Europe. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in Southern Europe. 35,000 people died as a result of the heat wave. ^[1] Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... June 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Events June 1, 2003 The Group of Eight summit opens in Evian, France to tight security and tens of thousands of protestors. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for August, 2003. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Fields outside Benambra, Victoria, Australia suffering from drought conditions A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. ... For other uses, see crop (disambiguation). ...

Change of temperature in Europe from the average.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2124x1800, 1398 KB) Summary Carte des variations de températures par rapport à la normale lors de la canicule de 2003 en Europe. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2124x1800, 1398 KB) Summary Carte des variations de températures par rapport à la normale lors de la canicule de 2003 en Europe. ...

Country-by-country

France

14,802 people, mostly elderly, died in France from heat, according to the country's largest funeral service.^[2] France does not commonly have very hot summers (seven days with temperatures of more than 40°C (104 F) were recorded in Auxerre,Yonne between July and August 2003), particularly in the northern areas. As a consequence, most people do not know how to react to very high temperatures (for instance, with respect to rehydration), and most homes and retirement homes are not equipped with air conditioning. Furthermore, while there are contingency plans for a variety of catastrophes and natural events, high heat had never been considered a major hazard and so such plans for heat waves did not exist at the time. Coordinates Administration Country France Region Bourgogne Department Yonne (Prefecture) Arrondissement Auxerre Canton Chief town of 5 cantons Intercommunality Communauté de Communes de lAuxerrois Mayor Guy Ferez (2001-2008) Statistics Altitude 93 m–217 m (avg. ... Rehydration is the pissing of water and electrolytes lost through dehydration. ... Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ...

The heat wave occurred in August, a month in which many people, including government ministers and physicians, are on vacation. For other uses, see Heat wave (disambiguation). ...

Many bodies were not claimed for many weeks because relatives were on holiday. A refrigerated warehouse outside Paris was used by undertakers as they did not have enough space in their own facilities. On 3 September 2003, 57 bodies still left unclaimed in the Paris area were buried. This article is about the capital of France. ... is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

That shortcomings of the nation's health system could allow such a death toll is a matter of controversy in France. The administration of President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin laid the blame on The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... “Chirac” redirects here. ... The Prime Minister of France (Premier ministre de la France) is the functional head of the Cabinet of France. ... Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin   listen? (born August 3, 1948) is a French conservative politician. ...

• families who had left their elderly behind without caring for them;
• the 35-hour workweek, which affected the amount of time doctors could work;
• family practitioners vacationing in August (Many companies traditionally closed in August, so people had no choice about when to vacation. Family doctors were still in the habit of vacationing at the same time);

The opposition as well as many of the editorials of the local press have blamed the administration. Many blamed Health Minister Jean-François Mattei for failing to return from his vacation when the heat wave became serious, and his aides for blocking emergency measures in public hospitals (such as the recalling of physicians). A particularly vocal critic was Dr Patrick Pelloux, head of the union of emergency physicians, who blamed the Raffarin administration for ignoring warnings from health and emergency professionals and trying to minimize the crisis. The 35-hour workweek is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospins administration. ... A general practitioner (GP) or family physician (FP) is a physician who provides primary care. ... This politics-related article is a stub. ... Look up editorial, op-ed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Mattei lost his ministerial post in a cabinet reshuffle on 31 March 2004. is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

United Kingdom

In the UK, a record-breaking 38.5 °C (101.4 °F) was recorded in Brogdale Orchards, one mile southwest of Faversham, Kent on Sunday, 10 August 2003. The previous highest recorded temperature was 37.1 °C (98.8 °F), recorded in Cheltenham. ^[3] chhese Faversham is a town in Kent, England, in the district of Swale, roughly halfway between Sittingbourne and Canterbury. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the parliamentary constituency, see Cheltenham (UK Parliament constituency). ...

A retrospective analysis published in 2005 showed that the heat wave caused 2,139 excess deaths in the UK for the period 4 to 13 August 2003.^[4]

Italy

Nearly 3,000 people died in Italy,^[5] where temperatures varied between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius in most cities for weeks, according to eurosurveillance.org.^{[citation needed]} Other sources reported a much lower figure, not only for Italy but for other countries as well. New Scientist magazine reported 4,200 deaths in Italy and Spain attributable to the 2003 heatwave.^[6] The Guardian reported 1,000 deaths in Italy, 4,000 in Spain.^[7] For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ...

Portugal

There were extensive forest fires in Portugal. Five percent of the countryside and ten percent of the forests were destroyed, an estimated 4,000 km². Eighteen people died in the fires. Temperatures reached as high as 48°C in Amareleja. The first of August was the hottest day in centuries, with night temperatures well above 30°C. A freak storm developed on the southern region during that dawn. A hot strong saharian wind blew during the subsequent days of that week.^[8][9]

Spain

There were 141 deaths in the country. Temperature records were broken in various cities including Jerez 45.1 °C,^{[citation needed]} Badajoz 45.0 °C,^{[citation needed]} Huelva 43.4 °C,^{[citation needed]} Gerona 41 °C,^[10] Burgos 38.8 °C,^{[citation needed]} San Sebastián 38.6 °C,^{[citation needed]} Pontevedra 36 °C,^[11] and Barcelona 36 °C.^[12] In other cities of southern Spain, record temperatures were not recorded but the temperatures were higher than 40 °C: Murcia 41.8 °C,^{[citation needed]} Toledo 42.0 °C,^{[citation needed]} Cordoba, 46.2 °C^{[citation needed]}, and in Seville, it was 47 °C.^[13] “Jerez” redirects here. ... Location Badajoz, Spain location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Badajoz (Spanish) Spanish name Badajoz Founded 875 Area code 34 (Spain) + 924 (Badajoz) Website http://www. ... Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. ... Girona (Catalan: Girona, Spanish: Gerona, French: Gérone) is a city located in the northwest of Catalonia, Spain on the confluence of the rivers Ter and Onyar. ... The cathedral Our Lady of Burgos. ... Location Image:Donostia (San Sebastian), Euskadi location. ... Pontevedra is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Pontevedra in Galicia. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ... This article is about the city in Spain named Toledo. ... Location Coordinates : , , Time zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer : CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Córdoba (Spanish) Spanish name Córdoba Founded 8th century BC Postal code 140xx Website http://www. ... For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation). ...

Germany

In Germany, a record temperature of 40.4 Celsius (104.7 Fahrenheit) was recorded at Roth bei Nürnberg, Bavaria.^{[citation needed]} With only half the normal rainfall, rivers were at their lowest this century,^{[citation needed]} and shipping could not navigate the Elbe or Danube. Around 7,000 people (mostly elderly) died during the 2003 heatwave in Germany. Roth bei Nürnberg is a town in Germany, in the state of Bavaria, situated about 25 km south of Nuremberg (Nürnberg in German). ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ... This article is about a river in Central Europe. ... This article is about the Danube River. ...

Switzerland

Melting glaciers in the Alps caused avalanches and flash floods in Switzerland. A new nationwide record temperature of 41.5 Celsius (106.7 °F) was recorded in Grono, Graubünden.^[14] Perito Moreno Glacier Patagonia Argentina Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland Icebergs breaking off glaciers at Cape York, Greenland This article is about the geological formation. ... Alp redirects here. ... Grono is a municipality in the district of Moesa, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. ... Graubünden or Grisons (German:  ; Italian: Grigioni; Romansh: Grischun, French: Grisons) is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. ...

Effects on crops

Crops suffered from drought in Southern Europe, but conversely in the north they actually did very well.

Wheat

The following shortfalls in wheat harvest occurred as a result of the long drought.^{[citation needed]} Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat Wheat For the indie rock group, see Wheat (band). ...

• France - 20%
• Italy - 13%
• United Kingdom - 12%
• Ukraine - 75% (Unknown if affected by heatwave or an early freeze that year.)
• Moldova - 80%

Many other countries had shortfalls of 5-10%, and the EU total production was down by 10 million tonnes, or 10%. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: European Union The European Union On-Line Official EU website, europa. ...

Grape

The heat wave greatly accelerated the ripening of grapes; also, the heat dehydrates the grapes, making for more concentrated juice. By mid-August, the grapes in certain vineyards had already reached their nominal sugar content, possibly resulting in 12°-12.5° wines (see alcoholic degree). Because of that, and also of the impending change to rainy weather, the harvest was started much earlier than usual (e.g. in mid-August for areas that are normally harvested in September). Species Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis amurensis Vitis arizonica Vitis x bourquina Vitis californica Vitis x champinii Vitis cinerea Vitis x doaniana Vitis girdiana Vitis labrusca Vitis x labruscana Vitis monticola Vitis mustangensis Vitis x novae-angliae Vitis palmata Vitis riparia Vitis rotundifolia Vitis rupestris Vitis shuttleworthii Vitis tiliifolia Vitis... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... For other uses, see Juice (disambiguation). ... A common vineyard. ... This article is about precipitation. ... Look up Harvest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

It is predicted that the wines from 2003, although in scarce quantity, will have exceptional quality, especially in France. The heat wave made Hungary fare extremely well in the Vinalies 2003 International wine contest: a total of 9 gold and 9 silver medals were awarded to Hungarian winemakers.^[15]

Causes of the heat wave

The heat wave has inevitably been linked to unprecedented weather extremes in other parts of the world taking place in the same general period (such as the worst drought in recorded history in Australia during the previous Australian summer, and massive floods in the USA) and attributed to global warming^[16]. A December 2004 article in the journal Nature claimed man made climate change to be a contributing factor.^[17] Global dimming has also been linked to the heatwave, the theory being that Europe's reduced pollution levels since the turn of the century have reduced dimming's masking effect on global warming.^{[citation needed]} Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ... Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earths surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in 1950s. ...

The massive death toll in France has been blamed on France's labour laws which contributed to severe staff shortages in the public health and aged care systems during the country's summer holidays, as well as a lack of air-conditioning in French medical facilities. The government of Jacques Chirac and his Minister for Health, Jean-François Mattei, were condemned for failing to issue warnings and not recalling staff back to work as news of mortality spikes were being reported from the health surveillance authorities. “Chirac” redirects here. ...

Effects on the Sea

The anomalous overheating affecting the atmosphere, also caused anomalies on sea surface stratification in the Mediterranean Sea and on the surface currents also. A seasonal current of the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS), resulted modified in its path and intensity. The AIS is important for the reproduction biology of important pelagic commercial fish species, so the heatwave may have influenced indirectly the stocks of these species. Further studies will be addressed in this direction.^[18]

References