Confronting extreme heat, drought and wildfires: How EU-funded research is helping Europe to respond and adapt

This summer, we are facing unprecedented droughts and wildfires leading to casualties and devastation across the continent. While the immediate focus is on responding to the emergencies with firefighting helicopters, electric fans and shallow water vessels, EU-funded research and innovation is also essential for addressing the longer-term challenge of a changing climate. Initiatives such as the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and research projects develop the knowledge and solutions needed to strengthen society's resilience in the years and decades ahead.

This article illustrates in a few examples how Horizon Europe helps tackling extreme summer events.

Improving forecasting and early warning at the local level

Advances in climate science make it possible to forecast extreme events such as heatwaves earlier and with greater accuracy. This allows authorities to issue warnings, activate health services, and advise the public before temperatures peak to dangerous levels.

Among other objectives, the HealthRiskADAPT project helps cities and regions prepare for higher temperatures by mapping heat at a very local level, linking it to health risks in terms of illnesses and mortality, and providing early warning and planning tools.

The MountResilience project has created a platform that brings together observational tools and an AI prediction algorithm for early warnings against floods, forest fires, and other types of extreme weather in Bulgaria. Informed by the tool's output, project partners installed forest fire detection equipment (e.g. a thermal vision camera) that detects heat before smoke becomes visible, facilitating an early reaction.

The AURORA project tackles extreme-heat risks in the European Union's Boreal Region by building high-resolution Urban Heat Island models and embedding them in a climate-health decision-support system. In the Tampere, Finland, a machine-learning model produces detailed, 1km maps of urban heat island, which are fed into a heat-stroke risk-assessment tool that combines hazard, exposure and vulnerability data to pinpoint the neighbourhoods most at risk.

Supporting cities and local authorities in designing tailored climate adaptation plans

EU-funded research on climate adaptation and resilience contributes to identifying which areas and population groups are most at risk, utilising these insights to develop effective adaptation plans and measures together with the public.

The work of Impetus4Change and MULTICLIMACT supports cities and local authorities in developing and implementing their own climate adaptation pathways. The projects are testing innovative solutions in Barcelona, Paris and Prague to reduce heat stress and improve urban resilience, e.g. by informing urban planning and house retrofitting policies.

Similarly, the NEVERMORE project assists regional authorities with tools to assess climate risks and plan adaptation strategies, with demonstrations in climate change hotspots. Its case study in Murcia focuses on drought and water scarcity, while its work in Sitia examines combined impacts of heat and drought.

The MIRACA project focuses on protecting critical infrastructure from climate impacts. Its case study in Spain examines how transport networks can adapt to the combined effects of heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires, ensuring continuity and safety under extreme conditions. Such cross-sectoral approaches are essential for maintaining resilience in interconnected systems that are increasingly exposed to climate stress.

The CARMINE project is deepening the knowledge of urban heat dynamics, including research on nocturnal heat patterns using crowd-sourced weather data. Its case studies in Athens and Barcelona provide valuable insights into how heat accumulates and persists in urban environments, informing more effective mitigation strategies.

Fighting heat and wildfires through conserving or restoring ecosystems and nature based solutions

Climate action-related research is informing and showing how ecosystems and nature-based adaptation can have a lasting effect in reducing impacts of extreme heat and forest fires.

The Trees4Adapt project explores post-fire recovery in Portugal, demonstrating how restoring forest ecosystems can enhance resilience to future heat and wildfire events while contributing to long-term climate adaptation.

The projects DRYAD, MED-IREN and DesirMED are testing and implementing nature-based solutions designed to reduce the combined risks of droughts and wildfires, which are often intensified during heatwaves. Measures such as reforestation and soil restoration help retain moisture and regulate local temperatures.

Identifying and testing adaptation measures that tackle the adverse effects of heatwaves on health

As heatwaves are becoming a public health risk, climate adaptation research and innovation projects are developing and implementing measures that protect people's health and wellbeing from extreme heat.

ISMED-CLIM helps Mediterranean countries protect citizens from climate-related health risks, with a strong focus on extreme heat, by testing practical tools such as early warning systems, personalised advice and healthcare emergency plans for vulnerable groups based on clinical trials. For example, in Greece and Spain it supports outdoor workers with heat alerts and recommendations to reduce heat stress, while in Cyprus and Italy it tests measures to help pregnant women lower heat exposure and improve sleep.

In the mountainous Tirol region, the MOUNTADAPT project is looking at how heatwaves are affecting people's health and how to help local health systems better prepare. Researchers are using data and artificial intelligence to understand how extreme heat can contribute to mental health problems and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and to estimate how these health risks could change as the climate warms. This will deliver the evidence that can help mountain health systems adapt to more frequent and intense heat.

Last year, the EU invested a further EUR 30 million in projects helping cities adapt to extreme heat and protect people's health and wellbeing, placing local authorities and vulnerable residents at the centre. Three new projects CLIMACARE, EUROASIS and PROTECT will soon be putting into practice another set of innovative ideas, showing not only what works to cool our cities, but also how these measures can be scaled up and financed allowing more municipalities across Europe to benefit.

As these examples show, research and innovation in the EU is equipping communities across Europe with the knowledge, tools and effective solutions to adapt to the increasing occurrence of heatwaves, as part of the rapidly changing climate.

Useful Links

Research and innovation for climate action

EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change

Mission Adaptation projects

• AURORA
• CLIMACARE
• DesirMED
• DRYAD
• EUROASIS
• HealthRiskADAPT
• ISMED-CLIM
• MED-IREN
• MIRACA
• MOUNTADAPT
• MountResilience
• PROTECT
• Trees4Adapt

Climate science projects

• CARMINE
• Impetus4Change
• MULTICLIMACT
• NEVERMORE