As Cerberus roasts Europe, why are some heat waves getting names?

Seville, Spain implemented its first naming and categorization system last year, which lead to the world's first name for a heat wave: Zoe.

Zoe, Xenia, Cleon and Cerberus.

You might have heard these names come up recently. They don’t belong to people. Rather they are monikers appointed to heat waves around the world.

Cerberus is the most recent name for the heat wave currently burning through southern Europe. In Greek mythology, Cerberus is a ferocious three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld.

A number of European countries have reported blistering heat of over 40 degrees Celsius the past few days. The continent experienced similar dangerous temperatures last summer as well, which led to the first naming of a heat wave: “Zoe” in Seville, Spain.

The city implemented its first ranking and naming system on the first day of summer last year, which involved dividing heat waves into three tiers based on their impact on human health. According to a 2021 news release from the City of Seville, each tier would elicit a different response from the city, such as opening air conditioned shelters or adding extra staff to emergency rooms.

The naming system runs in reverse alphabetical order and uses recognizably Spanish-sounding names. After Zoe, the heat waves that are in the highest, Category Three tier would be called Yago, Xenia, Wenceslao and Vega.

“Seville is proud to become the first city in the world to develop and implement a heat wave naming and categorization system that aims at saving thousands of lives, and we encourage other cities in the world to also undertake this great endeavor,” said Mayor Juan Espadas in the release.

The release argues that having a naming convention for extreme heat allows the weather event to have the same meteorological treatment and attention that hurricanes and tropical storms command in many parts of the world.