The Earth in the grip of heat. Exceptional heatwaves from the United States to Europe
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
The United States and Canada have just experienced an exceptional heatwave, while Europe braces for another scorching week.
The Earth in the grip of heat. Exceptional heatwaves from the United States to Europe
The United States and Canada have just experienced an exceptional heatwave, while Europe braces for another scorching week.
North America was struck by a violent heatwave over the weekend. Temperatures across numerous regions of the United States – from the plains of the Midwest to the Atlantic coast – broke records on Saturday 20 July.
Several local heat records broken in the United States
Local all-time highs were broken, for example, in Manchester (New Hampshire), Atlantic City (New Jersey), and at John Fitzgerald Kennedy airport in New York. Temperatures exceeded 37 degrees during the day and did not drop below 27 at night. Furthermore, several weather stations in the eastern half of the country reached 38 degrees Celsius on Sunday as well: from Massachusetts to North Carolina, via New York, Philadelphia and Washington.
I’m here in Ohio. It’s REALLY hot. They cancelled the New York Triathlon for heat. Are we ready to act on climate yet?
thinkprogress.org/call-it-the-tr…
thinkprogress.org/call-it-the-tr…
Particularly high humidity levels made life even harder for those affected by the heat: 150 million people across the country. According to authorities, at least six people died as a result of the extreme temperatures. Among them – reports the AFP agency – American football player Mitch Petrus, who died on Thursday in Arkansas.
Read also: Canada. Ad Alert, l'insediamento abitato più a nord del mondo, non è mai stato così caldo
Feels like 36 degrees in Montreal, Canada
In an attempt to limit dangerous situations, in New York authorities opened 500 centres where residents could cool down. Horse races, triathlon competitions and a music festival that was to have been held in Central Park were also cancelled. Similarly, Washington activated an emergency plan, among other things keeping parks with fountains and municipal swimming pools open late.
Weather chaos: Heat wave hits USA and Canada as Europe prepares for second heat wave within a month #heatwave #USA #Canada #Europe
strangesounds.org/2019/07/heat-w… via @Strange_Sounds
strangesounds.org/2019/07/heat-w… via @Strange_Sounds
Much the same happened in Canada, which was also hit by the exceptional heatwave. In Montreal temperatures rose to 30 degrees (36 as perceived due to humidity). According to the United States weather service, from today, Monday 22, "the dangerous heatwave will end across most of the country, with the arrival of a cooler front".
France's all-time record revised upwards: 46 degrees Celsius reached
Western Europe is also preparing to face the season's second exceptional heatwave, following the one experienced at the end of June, which saw France record the highest temperature ever measured on its territory.
🌡️C'est officiel : on a atteint les 46 °C en France lors de la vague de chaleur de la fin juin ! Après contrôle et expertise par les climatologues de Météo-France, cette valeur a été validée. 👉 meteofrance.fr/actualites/743…
And this is no longer the figure previously reported, namely the 45.9 degrees reached at Gallargues-le-Montueux, but rather the 46 degrees reached at Vérargues, a few kilometres away. After several weeks of verification, Météo France officially validated the reading, thereby establishing a new all-time record.
RT meteofrance : RT VigiMeteoFrance: Une vague de #chaleur s'amorcera demain lundi par le sud du pays puis s'étendra entre mardi et jeudi à une très large partie de la France. Les températures maximales pourront localement approcher ou dépasser les 40°C.… x.com/meteofrance/st…
Also in France, from Monday to Thursday temperatures will exceed 40 degrees across the entire western part of the country. Paris will not be spared from the scorching heat either: meteorologists have spoken of heat "severe enough to topple new night-time and daytime records". The event will in fact be "more intense than the June one in the Paris region" and "compounded by severe atmospheric pollution".
Wildfires in Portugal, records expected in the United Kingdom, sweltering heat in Italy
The situation is much the same in the United Kingdom, where temperatures close to 30 degrees are forecast in England and Wales, while in the south they could exceed 35. A Met Office spokesperson recalled that "the all-time heat record from 1910 to the present day was set at Heathrow on 1 July 2015. It is possible that it will be broken this week".
The Iberian Peninsula will also suffer from the heat. Spain will experience a repeat of what it went through at the end of June, while Portugal is already battling extensive wildfires. Over the weekend, as many as 1,800 firefighters, 13 aircraft, bulldozers and soldiers were deployed to the centre of the country in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
In Italy, finally, according to 3B Meteo, the intense heat will be present "in the North West, in the Po Valley, in Sardinia and in the Tyrrhenian regions of central Italy, with peaks of up to 36–38 degrees. Peaks of up to 38–40 degrees cannot be ruled out in the valleys of Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria. It will also be hot at night, with highs of around 24–25 degrees in urban centres. The climate will also be rather muggy, with a growing sense of physical discomfort".