Manuel Franco

Head of International Relations at the Spanish Society of Public Health and Healthcare Administration (SESPAS), organiser of the 2026 European Public Health Conference (EUPHA), Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and professor and researcher at the universities of Alcalá and Johns Hopkins

BC3 Basque Centre for Climate Change
University of Alcalá
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Spanish Public Health Society (SESPAS)

The ERC-funded project is of the highest quality and so is the publication. 
We know more and more about the quantitative and qualitative effects of heatwaves. Better metrics to understand the effects on mortality are needed and the fact that this has been done across Europe is very important. 
I would highlight three important issues with respect to this research: 

  1. Southern Europe is the most affected. This leaves us in a very clear situation where we need to act as early and as well as possible on both adaptation and mitigation. 
  2. Mortality estimates are almost twice as high as the "official" estimates, which appear to be outdated. 
  3. The hottest days on the planet have just been measured.
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