This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Summer in Europe is normally cause for celebration. Not this one, however, which will rank as one of the hottest on record.
Wildfires have broken out everywhere from France to Greece, while intense drought has turned the grass in London's famous Hyde Park brown. This week, much of Europe is sweltering through yet another heat wave. Most European cities are designed to weather cold, not intense heat.
But temperatures are now regularly climbing over 35°C (95°F). Prolonged, damaging heat is forcing rapid change. Rather than abandoning normal life, urban residents put it on hold until cooler conditions arrive in the evening.
These changes are already measurable. In our recent research, we analyzed two years of bank card transaction data from three Australian cities to see what happened when the temperature rose over 35°C (95°F). We found overall spending fell 7% during heat waves.
Consumers spent less between midday and early evening before spending stabilized after sunset. As extreme heat becomes more common, it will affect businesses and organizations in more cities. More of life will have to happen at night.
We used anonymized, large-scale bank card transaction data and daily temperature records from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide between January 2023 and December 2024. Temperatures reached 35°C (95°F) or higher on 62 days over this period—27 in Adelaide, 20 in Melbourne and 15 in Sydney. The dataset captures virtually all point-of-sale spending in three-hour intervals.
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