Ankara: As millions across Europe endure a blistering heat wave, with record temperatures triggering emergency alerts from Spain to the UK, experts are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a silent and increasingly deadly global crisis.

According to Anadolu Agency, in recent days, temperatures in parts of southern Europe exceeded 46°C (114.8°F). In Spain's Catalonia region, two people died and 20,000 others were placed under lockdown due to a blazing wildfire that spread at 28 kilometers (17 miles) per hour, one of the fastest ever recorded in Europe. Spain and England also recorded their hottest Junes on record.

The crisis is not limited to Europe. Last week, large swaths of the US were scorched by extreme heat, prompting the Trump administration to declare a power emergency in southeastern states to prevent blackouts as energy demands soared. Japan also saw its hottest June since record-keeping began in 1898, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at the Imperial College London's Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, highlighted the deadly nature of heat waves. 'Heat waves are silent killers,' he stated, citing preliminary data that estimated 570 heat-related deaths in England and Wales between June 19-22. In Spain, the Carlos III Health Institute suggested that 380 excess deaths were linked to extreme heat.

Peter Dynes, managing director at Mirrors for Earth's Energy Rebalancing (MEER), explained that Europe is warming at more than twice the global average due to its proximity to the Arctic and ongoing droughts. This increased heat absorption accelerates regional warming.

Josh Foster, a lecturer in human environmental physiology at King's College London, emphasized the risks of heat stress, which can be lethal regardless of age or health. He noted that older people and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, with heat stress linked to adverse outcomes like congenital heart disease and kidney failure.

With early reports of heat-related hospitalizations, experts warn that this summer might surpass the heat-related mortality of 2022, when over 61,000 deaths were reported in Europe. Vikki Thompson, a climate scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, stressed that extreme heat is becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, urging for rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.