Heatwave datasets#
A heatwave is a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather. There are different approaches to defining a heatwave. But in general, a heatwave is determined using thresholds for air temperature and its persistency (minimum duration as a number of days). The most common definition of a heatwave is the occurrence of multiple consecutive days with the maximum air temperature over a certain threshold. In some methodologies thresholds are also defined for the minimum air temperature.
The heatwave datasets present the projections of the relative change in heatwave events per year compared to the baseline (1971-2000). Each pixel represents the magnitude of change between current and projected future climate conditions. Future climate projections are illustrated for multiple time horizons (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100). Two representative concentration pathways have been selected: RCP 4.5 (a moderate-emissions scenario in which carbon emissions rise until the 2040s, and then begin to decline) and RCP 8.5 (a high-emissions scenario, in which emissions continue to rise throughout the end of the century). The climate change projected under RCP 8.5 will typically be more severe than under RCP 4.5.
The dataset is available for Europe with different projection timeframes and emission scenarios (RCPs). Besides the heatwave datasets, the map shows exposure layers representing Buildings and Built-up density retrieved from Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL)