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INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: Why a repeat of the summer of 2018 scares me

Drought, wildfires and emergency slaughter of livestock. Could another summer like the 2018 heatwave be in store for Sweden this year?

Inside Sweden: Why a repeat of the summer of 2018 scares me
Kårböle, pictured, was one of the areas ravaged by wildfires in Sweden in 2018. Photo: Mats Andersson/TT

Hej!

A lot of us have these years or dates that we associate with certain extreme weather events, the ones that really stick in your memory for some reason.

For my parents, it was the New Year’s Eve of 1978-79, a winter that people of that generation still speak of in southern Sweden.

Trains ground to a halt, people were forced to leave their cars on the motorway and continue on foot as the snow piled high on the roadside. One of my former teachers once told me that he was standing in the middle of the Mårtenstorget square in Lund and, blinded by the snow, could not tell which was the right way home.

For me, it’s the summer of 2018, a summer of a never-ending heatwave and drought, when crops failed, farmers had to put their livestock to emergency slaughter because they could not feed the animals, grass couldn’t be cut because of the risk of a single spark from a lawnmower starting a wildfire, Polish firefighters were hailed as heroes when they arrived in the port of Trelleborg to help their Swedish colleagues battle the record blazes.

Sweden recorded excess mortality that summer, and research suggests that more than 600 people may have died as a result of the heatwave. 

Sweden is lucky in that we rarely get very extreme weather. It’s lagom just like everything else. We live in a pretty much earthquake-free zone, the winters are cold but the houses are insulated, the summers are usually not that hot.

Some readers from countries with far more violent climates than Sweden may roll their eyes at the thought of any Swedish weather being “extreme”. But such conditions are getting more frequent here, too, a result of the climate crisis.

I’m reminded of the summer of 2018 because Swedish newspapers are increasingly reporting that we may see a repeat of it in the weeks ahead.

Farmers are already starting to express concern over their harvests. The crops need rain and they need it soon. A grain shortage is not what Sweden or anyone else wants this year, this year of war in Europe and high food prices.

The risk of forest fires is expected to grow in the coming weeks, and there are already fire bans in place in most of southern and central Sweden. These maps reveal a frightening picture of the tinder-dry conditions in Swedish forests.

I’ve always wanted my journalism to be constructive. Useful and hopeful. Not cheap scaremongering for clicks. But you know what? I’m actually scared.

Staying focused helps. Avoiding the problem, or avoiding news about the problem, doesn’t help me. I need to stay up to date – how can we navigate the future if we don’t try to understand what’s going on and what we can do?

There are things we can do. Both to help ourselves cope with the heatwave, and to help others. Staying informed, for one thing. Making sure we keep up to date with current weather warnings, fire bans and hosepipe bans.

It’s a good idea to save water, but not at the expense of your health. Even when there’s a hosepipe ban you’re allowed to use water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. But remember that although Sweden may not seem like a country that should have a water shortage, it could happen. At the moment groundwater levels are at normal levels or slightly below normal levels.

Keep your home cool. Swedish homes are well insulated which is great and winter, but less than ideal in summer. Close your blinds during the day and open your windows at night. And make sure you know your rights when it comes to how hot your landlords are allowed to keep your apartment.

If you’re worried about your health or another person’s health, you can call Sweden’s national healthcare helpline 1177 for advice. Which languages they offer depend on which region you’re in, but English is usually, just like Swedish, available round the clock. You’ll be able to choose a language when you call.

In an emergency, you should always call 112.

If you have questions about ongoing emergencies – such as wildfires – you can call Sweden’s information number 113 13. It is however important you do not call this if you’re calling to report an emergency, then the number is 112.

We’ve got an article on The Local’s site about staying safe this summer.

In other news

Would you believe there’s no good segue from the climate crisis to whether or not Sweden is recognising sex as an official sport, so I’ll just leave this here.

You may have seen Swedish teens, dressed all in white and funny hats, dancing on floats this week, their jubilant mood not in any way whatsoever linked to an intake of copious amounts of champagne for breakfast…

Zlatan retired from football! In case you’ve been living under a rock this week. But his story actually matters even if you’re not a football fan, and even if you’ve got tired of all his Zlatanisms. Listen to The Local’s latest podcast.

Swedish music streamer Spotify is cutting some 200 positions, equalling two percent of its workforce, as it slims down its internal podcast operations.

Sweden’s Supreme Court gave the green light for the government to extradite a PKK-supporter to Turkey, one of the demands made by Ankara to ratify the Nato application. Will Sweden join Nato in time for its next summit in mid-July? Time is running out with Turkey and Hungary still blocking membership.

Sweden’s government launched an inquiry into capping benefits so that no one in the country can earn more from social welfare than they could from working.

That’s all from me, but as always there’s much more to read on The Local.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes,

Emma Löfgren

Editor, The Local Sweden

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.

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For members

INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: What does Sweden Democrats’ election flop mean for foreigners?

The Local's editor Emma Löfgren rounds up the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.

Inside Sweden: What does Sweden Democrats' election flop mean for foreigners?

Hej,

The far-right Sweden Democrats have had a week of reckoning after they lost votes in the EU election – the first time in the party’s history that it’s performed worse in a national or EU election than previous elections. Thus far it had always been on an upward trajectory, a trend that is now broken.

In some districts it saw voters’ support reduced by up to a third, and in Sölvesborg (the popular party leader Jimmie Åkesson’s home town) where support also fell, there was talk of organising crisis meetings.

Let’s not exaggerate what this means. The Sweden Democrats get to keep their three seats in the European Parliament, and voting patterns for the EU election are usually different from the national elections (the Greens performed almost three times better than in the last national election less than two years ago).

A major poll this week suggested that the Sweden Democrats would win 19.5 percent of the vote if an election were held today – one percentage point lower than its 2022 election result, but better than its 13 percent in the EU election.

It is still a member of Sweden’s ruling Tidö coalition and it’s hardly the only party in favour of stricter migration: the right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats, and the centre-left Social Democrats have all had a hand in the tightening of rules that have impacted foreigners in Sweden in recent years.

But its poor performance does tell us something, which may have at least a small chance at influencing the Swedish political debate in the years ahead.

It suggests that the Sweden Democrats are less able than many thought at mobilising its potential voters. Its voters are generally sceptical of the EU and less keen to vote in the EU election, not even for the Sweden Democrats.

It suggests that Åkesson overplayed his hand when he wrote an opinion piece in the run-up to the election seeking to legitimise the concept of folkutbyte, a clear reference to the Great Replacement Theory that underpinned the deadly terror attack mounted by the Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik.

It suggests that the party played it wrong when it launched a verbal attack on TV4, refusing to apologise after the broadcaster revealed that the party operated a so-called troll factory. Perhaps the public thought showing just a little bit of contrition would have been a more appropriate reaction.

It suggests that peace, democracy, the climate and European cohesion – none of which are Sweden Democrat core issues – are important to voters.

And it rocks the boat for a party that perhaps for the first time failed at what it claims to do better than anyone else: gauging the mood of the nation.

What topics would you like The Local to cover?

It’s a challenging time for the media industry with volatile tech algorithms and advertising markets hitting even the biggest of newsrooms. That’s why I wrote a couple of weeks ago that it’s such a relief that our focus and number one resource here at The Local isn’t the tech giants, but our readers.

I’d like to take a moment to ensure that we’re continuing to meet your needs. Please fill out this survey to suggest stories we should cover in the year ahead.

In other news

The number of Swedish work permits rejected because the applicant’s salary is too low has increased by almost 2,000 percent since the country tightened the rules last year, according to new figures supplied to The Local.

There are plenty of things Sweden could do to help foreigners integrate, said The Local’s readers when we asked for their suggestions as to how the country could become more inclusive.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India are the top investment destinations for Swedish companies, meaning that businesses are planning on increasing their investments in these markets over the next 12 months.

English speakers who don’t speak Swedish can currently only donate blood in Stockholm, but The Local has been told of plans to roll out the service to Gothenburg and Uppsala in the year ahead.

The year-on-year inflation rate fell to 3.7 percent in May, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden. This was less than expected.

Hundreds of British citizens are still battling rejected applications to stay in Sweden, nearly two and a half years after the deadline to apply for post-Brexit residency status. The Local spoke to four of them.

Sweden’s Migration Agency has sent an analysis to the EU Commission, in which it concludes that its near blanket refusal of late applications for post-Brexit residency has been ‘at the right level’ and is of ‘a high legal quality’.

The number of beaches in Sweden which are checked and graded is growing every year, making it easy to make sure that where you are swimming is clean and safe. These are the cleanest beaches in Sweden this summer.

From TV schedules to bars and cafes, here are your options for watching all matches of the Euro 2024 football tournament in Sweden.

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Best wishes,

Emma

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.

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