A record-breaking heatwave is searing across Europe, with temperatures surpassing 45°C in parts of Spain and France. The UK’s National Grid has issued a rare notice warning of a “significant surge” in gas demand as air conditioning units strain the power system. This is not an anomaly.
It is physics. The atmosphere, warmed by our carbon emissions, holds more moisture and energy, fuelling these extreme events. As a climate correspondent, I have seen the data: the probability of such heatwaves has increased by a factor of ten since the pre-industrial era.
The grid’s reliance on gas, a fossil fuel, creates a vicious cycle: more heat demands more cooling, which demands more gas, which pumps more CO2 into the air. The UK’s energy mix, though improving with renewables, remains vulnerable. Solutions exist: expand solar, upgrade storage, and enforce efficiency standards.
But these require political will, not just emergency protocols. The heatwave will pass. The climate crisis will not.
