The cost of hotter summers

A public water fountain during a heatwave in Palma, Spain. Tourism in Spain, Europe’s second largest holiday destination, will grow less than previously expected as economic and geopolitical uncertainties weigh on the appetite for travel. — Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

A HEATWAVE scorching Europe had barely subsided in early July when scientists published estimates that 2,300 people may have died across a dozen major cities during the extreme, climate-fuelled episode.

The figure was supposed to “grab some attention” and sound a timely warning in the hope of avoiding more needless deaths, said Friederike Otto, one of the scientists involved in the research.