Europe’s City Schools, Hospitals at Risk from Extreme Heat, EU Agency Says

Nearly half of schools and hospitals in European cities are located in urban “heat islands”, exposing vulnerable populations to health-threatening temperatures as climate change impacts worsen, the European Union’s environment agency has said.

Around 46 percent of hospitals and 43 percent of schools are in areas at least 2 deg C warmer than the regional average – fueling fiercer heatwave impacts than in rural areas, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Wednesday, in an analysis of how Europe can adapt to climate change, Reuters reported.

The reason is the urban heat island effect, where dense clusters of buildings and infrastructure such as roads absorb and retain more heat than green areas.