Austria 'dangerously unprepared' for increase in temperatures due to climate change
Austria has been ranked among the 10 countries that will struggle to keep people cool if the global warming target of 1.5C is missed.
According to a study released this week by Britain's Oxford University, several northern European countries - including Austria - will be severely affected by an increase in "uncomfortably hot days" if global warming targets are missed.
The team from the Future of Cooling Programme at the university used mathematical models to calculate how much additional cooling down measures - such as window shutters, ventilation, fans, or air conditioning - would have to be provided in communities if the 1.5C global warming 'Paris target' is missed, and warming reaches 2C.
The most extreme temperature increases overall would be in Africa and Central Africa, scientists said.
However, they also highlighted 10 countries which they argued are more unprepared for heat.
The highest relative increase in days with "uncomfortably high temperatures" that will require more cooling interventions if global warming hits 2C will be experienced by people in previously cooler regions of the world.
The 10 areas affected according to the study are: Ireland with an increase in uncomfortably hot days of 38 percent, then Switzerland and Great Britain (30 percent each), Norway, Finland and Sweden (28 percent each), Austria (25 percent), Canada, Denmark and New Zealand (24 percent each).
"These countries are dangerously underprepared for this change," said researchers in the study.
READ ALSO: Heatwave - Austria braces for temperatures up to 37C
The scientists stressed that the findings are a conservative estimate and do not take into account extreme events such as heatwaves.
For their calculations, the scientists used what they describe as a widely used indicator for quantifying the need for cooling, so-called "cooling degree days" (CDDs). This compares the average daily outdoor temperature at a location with a standard temperature (usually 18C). Accordingly, a day with an average outdoor temperature of 30C, for example, has 12 CDDs.
The 10 countries identified in the study are traditionally set up for heating in the winter, rather than cooling in the summer, the researchers said.
"Right now, the buildings there act like greenhouses: they have no external solar shading, no windows that can be darkened from the outside, no natural ventilation and no ceiling fans," co-lead of the study Jesus Lizana said. "Our buildings are exclusively prepared for the cold seasons.”
Co-lead author Dr Nicole Miranda added: “Northern European countries will require large-scale adaptation to heat resilience quicker than other countries."
Researchers plan to share their findings with participants at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai 2023 in early December, where they hope to develop a "global cooling pledge".
"To mitigate these impacts, it is essential to keep warming below 1.5C," they have urged.
Austria has also been dealing with other effects of climate change.
Alpine glaciers saw a record mass loss for a single year in 2022, caused by very low winter levels of snow, a hot summer and deposits of wind-blown Saharan dust.
Experts have warned that Austrian glaciers will melt away by 2075 at the latest.
READ ALSO: ‘Unimaginable’: Austria’s highest paradise feels heat of climate change
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According to a study released this week by Britain's Oxford University, several northern European countries - including Austria - will be severely affected by an increase in "uncomfortably hot days" if global warming targets are missed.
The team from the Future of Cooling Programme at the university used mathematical models to calculate how much additional cooling down measures - such as window shutters, ventilation, fans, or air conditioning - would have to be provided in communities if the 1.5C global warming 'Paris target' is missed, and warming reaches 2C.
The most extreme temperature increases overall would be in Africa and Central Africa, scientists said.
However, they also highlighted 10 countries which they argued are more unprepared for heat.
The highest relative increase in days with "uncomfortably high temperatures" that will require more cooling interventions if global warming hits 2C will be experienced by people in previously cooler regions of the world.
The 10 areas affected according to the study are: Ireland with an increase in uncomfortably hot days of 38 percent, then Switzerland and Great Britain (30 percent each), Norway, Finland and Sweden (28 percent each), Austria (25 percent), Canada, Denmark and New Zealand (24 percent each).
"These countries are dangerously underprepared for this change," said researchers in the study.
READ ALSO: Heatwave - Austria braces for temperatures up to 37C
The scientists stressed that the findings are a conservative estimate and do not take into account extreme events such as heatwaves.
For their calculations, the scientists used what they describe as a widely used indicator for quantifying the need for cooling, so-called "cooling degree days" (CDDs). This compares the average daily outdoor temperature at a location with a standard temperature (usually 18C). Accordingly, a day with an average outdoor temperature of 30C, for example, has 12 CDDs.
The 10 countries identified in the study are traditionally set up for heating in the winter, rather than cooling in the summer, the researchers said.
"Right now, the buildings there act like greenhouses: they have no external solar shading, no windows that can be darkened from the outside, no natural ventilation and no ceiling fans," co-lead of the study Jesus Lizana said. "Our buildings are exclusively prepared for the cold seasons.”
Co-lead author Dr Nicole Miranda added: “Northern European countries will require large-scale adaptation to heat resilience quicker than other countries."
Researchers plan to share their findings with participants at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai 2023 in early December, where they hope to develop a "global cooling pledge".
"To mitigate these impacts, it is essential to keep warming below 1.5C," they have urged.
Austria has also been dealing with other effects of climate change.
Alpine glaciers saw a record mass loss for a single year in 2022, caused by very low winter levels of snow, a hot summer and deposits of wind-blown Saharan dust.
Experts have warned that Austrian glaciers will melt away by 2075 at the latest.
READ ALSO: ‘Unimaginable’: Austria’s highest paradise feels heat of climate change
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