No Filipino casualties reported in heat waves across Europe: DFA

No Filipino casualty has so far been reported amid the blistering heat waves sweeping across Europe, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday, July 22.

“The department has instructed our Foreign Service Posts in Europe to monitor the situation regarding the current heat wave being experienced in Europe,” DFA Deputy Assistant Secretary Gonar Musor said in a statement.

“So far, no report has been received of casualties involving our Filipino citizens.”

Musor noted that Philippine embassies and consulates in Europe continue to remind the local Filipino community to take the necessary precautions against the negative effects caused by the heat wave.

Several parts of Europe have been suffering from sweltering heat waves and wildfires this month, causing air pollution in the continent to spike.

In an advisory on July 19, scientists of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service predicted “very high levels” of surface ozone pollution across a large region of Europe as temperatures soared.

The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that degraded air quality poses a negative impact, particularly on vulnerable people.

“When a heat wave goes along with high levels of pollution, it exacerbates respiratory, cardiovascular diseases and conditions, especially in large urban spaces that are not adapted to cope with these high temperatures,” WHO Director of Environment and Health Maria Neira earlier said.

The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), meanwhile, said this spike in temperatures is “expected to become the norm if we don’t act now.”