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How’s the heat in Europe?
June and July haven’t been pleasant months for Europe. With much of the continent being swept in a torrid heat wave, people are looking forward to a respite from the heat. But with the temperatures rising to 44.3 degrees Celsius in France’s southern Vaucluse region, the picture is far from rosy.
What’s more, forecasters have predicted another spell of scorching heat to grip Europe in the coming week. To this end, Paul Gundersen, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, gave an official statement on Monday.
The U.K. will experience another pulse of high temperatures this week, with the possibility of records being broken for not only July but also all-time records.- Paul Gundersen, chief meteorologist at the Met Office gave an official statement
Climate concern: Hottest June ever in Europe
On June 28, France recorded beyond 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time ever, as per the statement of the state weather forecaster Meteo France.
And Europe is to continue getting heated up in the coming days.
Forecasters predict that Europe will have to bear another round of record-breaking Europe heatwaves in as many months. In many European countries, the temperatures are expected to inch near and even exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Back in June, the burning temperatures in Europe had created a stir worldwide. Europe clinched a record by experiencing the hottest June in the world. Consequently, this had prompted climate groups to take notice of the situation. The climate groups have warned of an ecological emergency, in the wake of the troubling phenomenon of global warming.
Mounting threat of Wildfire
The heat in Europe is intensifying. As per temperature predictions of the Meteorological service Meteo in France, Paris could exceed 41 degrees Celsius on Thursday. This brings the “absolute heat records” under threat in many cities in France.
Till date, Paris has never had temperatures exceeding 40.4 degrees Celsius, which was the highest record back in 1947.
The prolonged rise in extreme weather has been related to the increasing climate crisis, as per environmental experts. This has made the wildfire season in Europe more worrying and lengthy.
Prolonged extreme weather and forest fires confirmed
- The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which provides comprehensive climate information for the EU has confirmed the probability of prolonged extreme weather. It has warned of another expected bout of sweltering heat. And, this second heatwave will magnify the wildfire risk, especially across France, Spain, and Portugal.
- Not only this, the CS3′s Emergency Management Service (EMS) has reportedly anticipated the highest threat level for forest fires across almost all of France and Spain.
- Furthermore, the EMS has also issued “high” or “very high” threat levels forecast for large swathes of Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and Germany.
Temperatures to rise: more countries to join
The Met Office in U.k. has come up with an even more disheartening statement about the weather record. It has been estimated that the July-high temperature of 36.7 degrees Celsius and the U.K. temperature record of 38.5 degrees Celsius could both be equaled or surpassed on Thursday. What’s troubling is that this heatwave in the U.K. can potentially break records of not only July but also all-time records.
In this context, Gundersen stated: “The weather setup is broadly similar to the pattern that brought high temperatures to much of continental Europe at the end of June.”
On the other hand, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg could also join the wildfire season. What’s more, they might not be far behind in setting record-breaking temperatures too. A soaring temperature of 39 degrees Celsius can be recorded across all three countries.
Are we headed for the hottest July ever on Earth?
C3S has collected the data of the latest continental weather warnings. Evidently, the global average temperatures for June 2019 were the highest on record for the month.
Moreover, the data showed that the global average temperature was 0.1 degrees Celsius warmer than the preceding June record, set in 2016.
Going by the records and forecasts, the climate impact of the second bout of the heatwave is disconcerting.
To this end, the climate scientist Michael Mann tweeted last week, in response to data from NASA. The reports from NASA corroborated that the last month was the hottest June ever recorded.
However, he also stated to watch out for the July records. He stated: ” July is the warmest month of the year globally. If this July turns out to be the warmest July (it has a good shot at it), it will be the warmest month we have ever measured on Earth.”
We have been in the throes of the worldwide phenomenon of climate change and global warming for a long. It’s time we take notice of the environmental crisis too and act proactively to preserve our earth.