‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction

<p>As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis</p><p>Earlier this summer, I&nbsp;travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich, it averaged 37 degrees. I jumped into the Limmat for relief. On my final day in Warsaw, Poland had never been hotter – one of 14 countries to hit a historic high. In June, when I left to return to the US, Europe was scorching. At the end of July, as I write this, it is burning.</p><p>Since the heatwaves began, there have been more than 10,000 excess deaths. Yet for many, myself included, the high temperatures brought nothing more than inconvenience – uncomfortable commutes, heat rash, less time outdoors. This seems to be a defining feature of today’s climate crisis; deadly for some, banal for others. Even when the world is on fire, it somehow doesn’t feel like an emergency for everyone.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction">Continue reading...</a>