EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis Date in the current year: July 15, 2025

Climate change driven by human activities such as burning fossil fuels has an increasingly significant impact on the environment, and by extension, on human health and well-being. Its consequences include increased flooding, heat waves, wildfires, food and water shortages, and spread of disease. These effects are often referred to as climate crisis to highlight their urgency.

As the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and floods, as well as coastal erosion caused by rising sea levels, are increasingly damaging lives, economies, and communities across Europe and beyond. The global climate crisis contributes to higher mortality rates both directly and indirectly:

• Heat waves. More frequent and intense heat waves, which have occurred in recent years, cause deaths from heat stroke, dehydration, and cardiovascular and respiratory failure, particularly among at-risk groups, such as infants, the elderly, and people with preexisting conditions.
• Severe weather events. Storms, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires have become more frequent and severe, causing immediate fatalities, injuries, and long-term displacement.
• Air pollution. Warmer weather can worsen air quality, causing premature deaths from preexisting respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
• Spread of disease. Global warming expands the range of disease-carrying vectors, such as mosquitoes, increasing the risk of infection outbreaks in previously unaffected regions.
• Food and water insecurity. Droughts, changing rainfall patterns, and floods can damage crops and reduce access to clean water. This can lead to malnutrition and waterborne diseases, particularly in vulnerable populations.
• Mental health impacts. The trauma of climate-related disasters, displacement, and economic hardship can lead to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Several political groups in the European Parliament initiated the creation of the EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis: the European People’s Party Group (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Renew Europe, the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), and The Left. On July 13, 2023, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Council officially established the day through a joint declaration.

July 15 was chosen as the date because on this day in 2021, Europe experienced one of the deadliest days of flooding that swept the continent that year. The EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis honors those who lost their lives as a direct or indirect result of the climate crisis and serves as a call to action. It urges us to take meaningful steps to reduce the impact of climate change and strengthen our resilience to safeguard our lives, health, and communities.