All the records broken by the extreme heatwave in Europe
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
Temperatures, tropical nights, lightning: the current heatwave is the most violent ever experienced in Europe in the modern era.
All the records broken by the extreme heatwave in Europe
Temperatures, tropical nights, lightning: the current heatwave is the most violent ever experienced in Europe in the modern era.
The extreme heatwave that struck Western Europe before moving on to Central and Eastern Europe is the most violent ever recorded since temperatures have been monitored on a regular basis. And it would have been impossible in the absence of climate change caused by human activities, as confirmed by the group of scientists behind World Weather Attribution, the attribution science initiative dedicated to understanding whether extreme weather events are caused or exacerbated by global warming.
"This heatwave would have been impossible without climate change"
The same international network of scientists, founded in 2014 by German climatologist Friederike Otto, stated that the heatwave is the most severe ever measured in Europe — more intense even than the historic one the continent experienced in 2003. It comes as no surprise, then, that numerous all-time records have been broken across many countries.
The heatwave across Europe has broken many records and will slowly ease eastwards through this week.
Here is the latest.
Here is the latest.
The extreme weather event had begun in mid-month, first hitting the Iberian Peninsula before rapidly moving on to France and the United Kingdom. A high-pressure dome shifted very slowly, gradually enveloping Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and eventually reaching the Scandinavian countries and Eastern Europe.
In Denmark, no temperature this high had ever been recorded since meteorological data began being measured, in 1874: over the last weekend, thermometers reached 37 degrees Celsius. An all-time national record was also set in the Czech Republic, with 40.6 degrees. Likewise, in Germany the national all-time high was broken, with 41.7 degrees reached on Sunday 28 June in Coschen, Brandenburg.
Numerous all-time and monthly records broken
Those are the all-time records, but numerous monthly records have been broken too: temperatures in the Netherlands had never climbed in June as high as they did recently in Eindhoven, reaching 38.2 degrees. In Switzerland, the monthly record was reached in Basel, with 38 degrees, while in England it was set at Merryfield with 36.7 degrees. In Poland, the all-time record was not broken but came very close: the mercury hit 40 degrees in Zielona Gora, just shy of the highest figure ever recorded (40.2 degrees in Prószków, on 29 July 1921).
A widespread, intense late-June heatwave in Europe has shattered numerous temperature records across the region and has major impacts on human health, ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure and labour productivity.
Find out more: bit.ly/4aYSyPZ
Find out more: bit.ly/4aYSyPZ
In France, 24 June was, combining average daytime and night-time values, the hottest day ever recorded on French soil since temperatures have been regularly monitored: the average exceeded 30 degrees Celsius — higher than that recorded during the heatwaves of 2019 and 2003. In Cazaux, in the Gironde, the maximum reached 43.6 degrees.
Swiss glaciers are set to lose an enormous amount of ice due to the heatwave battering Europe, the head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) said.
➡️ u.afp.com/SKZp
➡️ u.afp.com/SKZp
At the same time, numerous Alpine glaciers in Switzerland, France and Italy have accelerated their melting process, with some dramatic images circulating in the media.
The WHO: "At least 1,300 people died from the heat in a single week"
Overall, more than 200 million Europeans have been exposed to temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, starting from Thursday 25 June. But unbearable values were also recorded for minimum temperatures. On the night between Saturday and Sunday, the thermometer in Torino did not drop below 27.2 degrees, making conditions quasi-tropical (it was the highest value ever recorded since 1753, as reported by Ansa). Stifling nights were also experienced in numerous other Italian cities.
Europe's heatwave linked to 1,300 deaths, WHO says, as Germany hits record 41.7C bbc.in/3T70to9
All the data point to how wide, prolonged and violent the heatwave has been. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that "since 21 June, more than 1,300 excess deaths linked to high temperatures have been recorded in Europe". Last year, the extreme heatwaves that struck Europe over the summer claimed 24,400 lives, according to a study by Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which analysed data from 854 cities across the continent.
More extreme weather events now on the way
As temperatures ease and air masses shift above the continent, other extreme weather events are now taking hold — in particular torrential rainfall, flooding and violent hailstorms. The first episodes (and the resulting damage) have already occurred in recent hours. And on the morning of Friday 26 June, a lightning storm struck parts of England and Scotland: never before had 6,000 lightning strikes been recorded in a single hour.
Europe's most severe heatwave on record set new records in eastern parts of the continent on Monday and forced Ukraine to order power cuts to cope. Slovakia registered a new record of 41 C u.afp.com/SKwC
Until serious and drastic action is taken to tackle climate change, scientists — the very ones who predicted with absolute precision what we are now experiencing — warn that the consequences of global warming will be infinitely more severe in the medium to long term.