As European cities swelter in the summer heatwave, a new report from WWF, analyzing summer temperature data from 16 EU cities, shows the continent’s capitals warming by sometimes more than 2°C in the last 30 years.

The global conservation organization’s report, Europe feels the heat - Extreme weather and the power sector, shows London is the city where average maximum summer temperature increased the most, up 2°C over the last 30 years, followed by Athens and Lisbon (1.9ºC), Warsaw (1.3ºC), and Berlin (1.2ºC).

Meanwhile, the increase in average summer mean temperature was highest in Madrid – up by a staggering 2.2°C, followed by Luxembourg (2ºC), Stockholm (1.5ºC), and Brussels, Rome, and Vienna (1.2ºC). In the last five years, average summer temperatures in 13 of the 16 cities looked at were at least 1ºC higher than during the first five years of the 1970s.

“Summer temperatures in Europe’s cities are heading for an ‘unbearable’ reading on the thermometer,” said Imogen Zethoven, Director of WWF’s Global PowerSwitch! Campaign. “Scientists estimate that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are doubling the risk of more record-breaking hikes in temperature.”

WWF’s report highlights the likelihood of more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts and rainstorms as average temperatures increase, the kind of events expected as a result of global warming.

It emphasizes that the power sector has fuelled a major part of this hike in temperatures, being responsible for 37 percent of man-made CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, mainly coal.

“To make Europe’s cities liveable in summer we must guarantee the cuts needed in emissions to switch off global warming,” added Zethoven. “EU governments must enforce stricter CO2 limits required under the European Emissions Trading Scheme.”

Original press release: It’s getting hotter in the city (WWF)