Climate impacts in focus: Spain, France and Italy

Globally, we’ve seen the hottest year on record in 2023, with every month from summer 2023 to summer 2024 hitting new records, with 2024 on track to be the hottest. Europe is warming at twice the global average since 1991, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and EU Copernicus Climate Change Service

Despite a lacklustre summer in the UK, the reality of an interconnected and complex globalised world means that the impact of extreme heat caused by climate change overseas continues to impact our food security and cost of living.

We import half our food from overseas, and extremes of heat and rain, drought and flooding have hit harvests of staple foods, driving up prices and adding to cost of living pressures.

Travel is another way UK residents are impacted by climate change, with up to 86 million UK residents making visits abroad in 2023. Our top three holiday destinations - Spain, France and Italy - are also countries from which we import lots of food.

All three have suffered extremes of heat over recent years, meaning Brits travelling there for holidays need to be ever more careful about looking after their health as temperatures hit new highs, dangerous for people’s health. Foods from all three countries that we import - household staples like tomatoes, olive oil, wine and vegetables - have been hit by climate-driven extremes, in some cases leading to shortages that have pushed up prices - like olive oil (up 137% in the last two and a half years).

As we continue to burn fossil fuels - gas and oil - and emit greenhouse gases, climate change continues to intensify and global temperatures rise. At 1.2°C average heating globally, since pre-industrial times, the impacts of climate change are worsening everywhere with extreme weather events increasing in both frequency and intensity.