Extreme, and no longer exceptional, heat engulfs half of Europe
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
An extreme heatwave is striking numerous European nations: it is the product of the climate crisis. And it will keep getting worse.
Extreme, and no longer exceptional, heat engulfs half of Europe
An extreme heatwave is striking numerous European nations: it is the product of the climate crisis. And it will keep getting worse.
At least 94 million people across Europe are suffering an extreme heatwave, remarkable for both its early onset and its duration, with its epicentre concentrated particularly on Spain and France. Extreme, but not extraordinary, let alone exceptional. There is, in fact, nothing "extra-ordinary" about what we are witnessing: it is precisely what climate science has been explaining for decades. And it will keep getting worse, because the primary "engine" of global warming – the burning of coal, oil and gas – continues to be fuelled despite the appeals of climatologists and the commitments made by the international community, starting with the Paris Agreement.
Europe is warming more rapidly than the rest of the Planet
From a meteorological standpoint, an immense mass of hot air arriving from Africa has been sitting over western Europe for days, its compression caused by high pressure raising surface temperatures even further. But this, of course, is merely a description of the immediate situation.
Long-term analysis indicates that the Old Continent is a "hot spot" of the climate crisis — one of the macro-regions in which global warming manifests most violently: the rise in temperature across the continent is twice as fast as the global average, as indicated by the latest edition of the State of the Climate in Europe report, produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (Ecmwf).
The epicentre of the extreme heatwave is currently in France
It is therefore inevitable that these heatwaves — along with other extreme events: storms, floods, droughts — will multiply and grow ever more severe in the near future. Anyone who still stubbornly denies the existence of climate change should, in this light, yield to the evidence.
🌡️🥵 A severe heatwave is affecting W Europe, with France 🇫🇷 and Spain 🇪🇸 among the hardest-hit countries.
🛰️ #CopernicusEU Sentinel-3 data from 23 June show land surface temps exceeding 50°C in parts of the region.
🔗 link.europa.eu/YgrMjy
#ImageOfTheDay
🛰️ #CopernicusEU Sentinel-3 data from 23 June show land surface temps exceeding 50°C in parts of the region.
🔗 link.europa.eu/YgrMjy
#ImageOfTheDay
The current situation is, for that matter, eloquent. In France conditions have been unbearable for days: 72 départements (out of 95 located in metropolitan territory) have been placed on red alert. At least forty people have drowned attempting to find relief in bodies of water where swimming is unsafe. As many as 13,500 schools have closed or adjusted their hours to protect the health of students and teachers.
On 24 June, average daytime and night-time temperatures in France exceeded 30 degrees
Indeed, combining average daytime and night-time values, 24 June was the hottest day ever recorded on French soil since temperatures began to be monitored systematically: the average exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. Higher than those recorded during the heatwaves of 2019 and 2003. In Cazaux, in the Gironde, the mercury hit a maximum of 43.6 degrees; in Nantes, 42.2. In Quimper, a town in the Finistère — a département that stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean — temperatures reached 38.7 degrees. In Paris the thermometer climbed to 38.7: a level reached for only the fourth time in 150 years.
In Italy, where schools have been closed for days due to the summer holidays, seventeen cities have been placed on red alert. These are Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Firenze, Frosinone, Milano, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Roma, Torino, Venezia, Verona, Viterbo, Latina and Bari. The Tuscan regional capital, in particular, is forecast to record the highest figures. The peak is expected on Monday the 29th.
Europe is sweltering under a heatwave, with temperatures averaging 5.5°F above normal and cities such as Paris and Madrid topping 100°F. The heat, driven by an omega block, has been linked to more than 40 deaths in France reut.rs/4eH4RRY
Records in southern England. The heatwave slowly shifts towards central-eastern Europe
Red alerts have also been issued across numerous regions of the United Kingdom starting today. It is only the second time this has happened since 2021. In Gosport, in Hampshire, on the southern coast, a record was set for the month of June at 36.1 degrees. In Spain, Monday and Tuesday were the hottest days in contemporary history, with a 24-hour average of 28.08 and 28.17 degrees respectively.
A London pre-school kept their students happy and cool by hosing off students with water during lesson breaks to stave off the heatwave that's gripped Western Europe reut.rs/4g4tgDs
In the Netherlands, the municipality of Amsterdam announced free access to swimming pools. Numerous cultural centres and landmarks have modified their opening hours, as in the cases of the Louvre and the Tour Eiffel in Paris and the Atomium in Brussels. In Poland, extreme heat is expected from today, Thursday 25 June. The scorching air will subsequently reach Denmark, Austria, Croatia and Hungary as well.