Heatwaves in Southern Europe Coming Early and Sooner: ‘About 50°C by the middle of this century’ | Abroad

It is certainly used in the high temperatures of southern Spain. In July and August, it regularly happens that the temperature in cities like Seville and Cordoba is more than 40 degrees. This year, Spain already experienced its first heat wave in May, with temperatures soaring to 42 degrees. Also last week, the Iberian Peninsula was extremely hot. And the highest temperature was recorded on Saturday in the north of the country: 43.5 degrees in San Sebastian (Basque region).

Like last month, this heat wave was caused by hot air coming from North Africa. Spanish meteorologists are talking about the strongest heat wave in mid-June in at least 20 years. Climate scientists are increasingly blaming extreme weather for the effects of climate change. According to meteorologist Diana Wei, it is Weather Plaza It is plausible that there is a relationship between hot air flow and climate change. “The global warming effect means that the air above Earth – in this case Africa – is getting warmer than it was before climate change. So the air flowing from there to Europe is much hotter than it would be without the greenhouse effect.”

Does an extremely warm spring mean temperatures in July and August could head towards 50 degrees? According to Woei, this is unthinkable in the short term. “It’s getting warmer, that’s a fact. Warming is also happening faster in the Northern Hemisphere than in the rest of the world. This is because the Earth is warming faster than the sea is warming and there is a lot of land in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the warming is not increasing. So fast that it will reach 50 degrees or warmer in southern Europe in a few years. It will happen, but most likely not until the middle of this century. So in about thirty years,” the Weather Lady predicts.

So far, the highest temperature ever recorded in Spain has been 47.4 degrees (August 2021 in Córdoba). The probability of breaking that record this summer is high, but the difference will be insignificant, according to Spanish meteorologist Rubén del Campo. Then 50 degrees seems possible, but 2.5 degrees more than the current record is a lot.

It was also hot in France. As far as is known, the extreme heat has killed at least two elderly people in this country. sender France information She reported that on Burnichet Beach (Brittany), an 80-year-old man, who was lying on a towel under the scorching sun, died, probably of heat stroke. When he stopped moving, the other swimmers sounded the alarm. Attempts to revive him failed. In the same area, an 82-year-old man died while swimming. A transition from 35 degrees outside air to water, barely 16 degrees, was probably fatal for him. And last night a kite surfer died during a storm on the Normandy coast. Storm and rain swept the west coast of France yesterday.

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Mainly in Spain Forest fires Which causes a lot of damage. A large forest fire in the northwest of the country has already reduced nearly 25,000 hectares to ash. Local media in Zamora province reported that the fire in the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range extends 40 miles (67 km) into the ocean.

Hundreds of people have left their homes in the stricken area in recent days, fearing a fire fueled by strong southern winds. Ash descended for up to 30 kilometers. In places where firefighting activities were successful, fires flared up again.

Germany also suffers from wildfires. Police called on residents of a few villages about 50 kilometers from Berlin to leave their homes immediately and take only essentials with them. Childcare was arranged in the town hall near Treuenbrietzen. According to the municipality, the fire is spreading very quickly and is now also threatening populated areas, due to the change in wind direction.

The fire started on Friday and has already damaged at least 100 hectares of land. The flames are now heading to the southeast and firefighters believe a main road could stop the blaze there. In most parts of Germany, with the exception of the northwest, it is still very warm. There are outliers of 38 degrees.

Since the heat wave in the summer of 2003, which killed 35,000 people in Europe, heat plans have been put in place in most countries and vulnerable groups such as the elderly have been closely monitored. Spain is also considering creating thermal shelters. These are refrigerated buildings where people, irritated by rising temperatures, can cool down for a few hours. They search city halls, malls, and bookstores. Greening city centers is also on the list of actions.

Diana Wei reported that thunderstorms that swept France and Spain from the Atlantic coast yesterday, put an end to the heat wave in the south. “Although it’s still very warm in the east of the Iberian Peninsula. But they haven’t even touched 40 degrees this week in Andalusia. It’s an average of 30 degrees. In our country, these are tropical temperatures, but many Spaniards will see 10 degrees lower on the way of satisfaction.”

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