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Intense heat wave spreading through Europe, temperatures rising above 40 °C

intense-heat-wave-spreading-through-europe-temperatures-rising-above-40-c

A record breaking heat wave is sweeping across western Europe and is expected to spread through the entire continent by the end of the week.

Warnings to remain indoors have been issued, especially for elderly people and children, as temperatures are rushing well above 40 °C (104°F) in Portugal, Spain and France.

Paris has now activated its national heat wave emergency plans, as thousands of isolated elderly people died in France alone when heat wave struck Europe in 2003. Across the continent, the 2003 European heat wave took nearly 20 000 lives. 

The French ecology minister, Segolene Royal called air-conditioned public places, such as libraries, cinemas and shopping malls to let people in, so they can recover from the boiling conditions on the streets. As a part of the emergency plan, French authorities have also set up a heat wave register in towns where isolated elderly people can be checked upon by either a phone call or a home visit.

A high level risk warning has been issued for 26 provinces, including Burgundy and Paris, where the temperatures are expected to jump over 40°C (104°F) this week.

It is recommended that the older people and small children, as well as the people who suffer from breathing difficulties wet their heads and remain wrapped in cold, wet towels, to minimize the risk of suffering a heat stroke. It is advised to avoid alcoholic drinks and to increase the water intake to at least three liters of water per day.

The wave of hot air is now spreading into UK where temperatures are expected to reach above 30°C (86°F) on Tuesday, June 30. Sectators and players at Wimbledon tournament are warned to take precaution measures.

The temperatures in Seville, Spain, already reached 42°C (108°F) and they are expected to hit 44°C (111°F) in the Cordoba countryside. In Spain and Portugal a forest fire warning is also in effect. The risk is especially high in the wooden central and northern Portugal, as the winter and spring of 2015 was unusually dry. About 54% of the Portuguese mainland suffered extreme to severe drought at the end of May. As the month of June was no better in terms of rainfall, the percentage is expected to rise

30 people have been treated for the heatstroke in Madrid, since the heat wave begin on Thursday, June 25. Even at night, the temperatures in many cities hovered above 20°C (68°F).

Two in a row record breaking temperatures were recorded in Madrid. A new June record of 39.7°C (103.5°F) was set on Monday, June 29, breaking the record of 39.1°C (102.3°F) set on the previous day, Sunday, June 28.

A temperature of 40°C was measured on Madrid's Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport, setting a first for June in records dating back to 1945. Nighttime temperature for Madrid is forecasted to hit 26°C (78.8°F), which is also well above the usual seasonal average of 16°C (60.8°F).

Spain's national weather office official said: “These are not usual meteorological phenomena, [they are] of an exceptional intensity and with a very high level of risk for the population."

The heat wave which has traveled from the north of Africa to Europe in the last couple of days is expected to last until the end of the week and spread through the entire continent.

Featured image: Daylight temperatures model for July 1, 2015. Credit: MeteoEarth.

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8 Comments

  1. I rather think the sun is responsible but am open to cosmic rays/clouds and NASA sponsored our system’s travel thru the galactic arm. Then there is Jupiter’s position.
    My theory is that Sol is heating Earth’s core, the periodic energy having degraded to survivable levels. This weather is a product of Sol’s actions; it is a tighter, more concentrated form as opposed to spread out and equalized.

  2. Study: Cold weather kills 20 times more people than hot weather

    Meanwhile, our leaders in their ultimate wisdom, insist that we should be worried about global warming.

    The study analyzed data on more than 74 million deaths in 13 countries between 1985 and 2012, says USA Today.

    Of those 74 million deaths, 5.4 million deaths were related to cold, while 311,000 were related to heat.

    The sharp distinction between heat- and cold-related deaths is because low temperatures cause more problems for the body’s cardiovascular and respiratory systems, it added.

    This report backs up a U.S. study last year from the National Center for Health Statistics, which found that cold kills more than twice as many Americans as heat.

    The study was published in the British journal The Lancet on May 20 of this year.

  3. I am constantly amazed by the apparent correlation between the scientific ignorance of an individual and their certainty concerning science issues. Additionally, they seem to pronounce their ignorance most loudly. Laughable.
    The sun is CERTAINLY not the source of planetary warming. We have excellent satellites in orbit that do nothing BUT monitor the sun. Solar output has diminished very slightly during the last few decades and so, if the sun were the source of warming, we should be cooling. We aren’t. The maximum range of solar output variance is +/- .05% ….. not enough to matter to the current conditions.
    The ability of CO2 to convert short wave infrared and visible light to longer wave infrared (heat) is well known, measurable, and demonstrable. It is a fact.
    That the concentration of CO2 is directly proportional to the radiative forcing is well known, measurable, and demonstrable. It is a fact.
    Other sources of heat in troposphere have been investigated and rejected as significant sources of warming.
    Volcanic activity, radioactive decay of minerals, heat emitted from the burning of fuels and nuclear plants, heat from biological sources, geothermal, meteoroid impingement on the atmosphere, and more. Dismissed.
    That leaves “greenhouse gases” … CO2, Methane, Chloroflurocarbons, Nitrous Oxide, water vapor as the cause. That is a fact.
    CO2 is warming the atmosphere and, far more, the sea. It’s causing a lot of problems for us, but it’s only the lanyard …. METHANE is the howitzer that will blow us away.
    Upon emission, it is 156 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2. It does break down over time, becoming “only” 28 times as effective after 100 years. Oh, and it breaks down into…………….. CO2 and water vapor! Oh good.
    There are massive deposits of methane-bearing clathrates in the coastal subsea plains and even more free methane imbedded in subsea sediments, particularly in the arctic. These are beginning to be spontaneously released into the sea and atmosphere. Permafrost has become permamelt and is emitting CO2 and methane. Google up Arctic Methane Emergency Group or Guy McPherson at Nature Bats Last.
    Anthropogenic global warming is a fact, it’s affecting us now, and appears to be in runaway …. no longer can we stop it much less undo it. Buckle your seat belt, it’s gonna be a hot and bumpy ride.

  4. No Nic, climate change is not a myth but global warming is. The sun is the main controller of climate and it is now in a period of low output which will lead to much lower temperatures and due to deceit of certain scientists will also lead to the deaths of thousands of people as there is no preparation for the shorter growing seasons.
    This web site http://www.spaceandscience.net/id16.html says it all!

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