CLIMATE CHANGE Global Warming Could Make Summer Hotter In Europe And Asia
People heading to Europe to escape the heat should be prepared for record summer temperatures sweeping the region which experts blame on global warming. Even Asia has not been spared with South Korea reporting that 29 people have died because of heatstroke in the country. “There’s no question human influence on climate is playing a huge role in this heatwave,” said Professor Myles Allen, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford, in The Guardian.
Professor Peter Stott, a science fellow at the Met Office in London, said global warming of 1C since the industrial revolution was clearly making extreme heat more likely.
“It is increasing quite significantly the risk of such a heatwave,” he said in the report.
The wide geographical spread of the heatwave, right across four continents, also points to global warming as the culprit, the report added. “That pattern is something we wouldn’t be seeing without climate change,” Professor Stott said. Michael Mann, a US climate scientist, tweeted: “What we call an ‘extreme heatwave’ today we will simply call ‘summer’ in a matter of decades if we do not sharply reduce carbon emissions.”
Spain
Two men died from heatstroke in Spain, with temperatures hitting a scorching 45°C in some areas and meteorologists saying only scant relief is in sight in the coming days. The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48°C in Athens in 1977, closely followed by 47.3°C in Amareleja, Portugal in 2003 as well as in Montoro, Spain last year.
Two men - a roadworker in his 40s and a 78-year-old pensioner died from heatstroke this week, as Spain experienced one of its hottest days, with temperatures nearing 44 degrees Celsius in Badajos on the border with Portugal, 42 degrees in Seville and 40 in Madrid.
Portugal
In Portugal temperatures topped a record 45 degrees in Alvega, 150 kilometres north of Lisbon, last week.
The heatwave was expected to reach its peak yesterday, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
While no “substantial” wildfires have been reported so far, the emergency services say they remain on maximum alert and Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita declared a policy of “zero tolerance” towards risky activity, such as barbecues. Tourism operators, such as Thomas Cook and Alltours, were quoted by German news agency DPA as saying that last-minute bookings for the Mediterranean are down, as holidaymakers seek out cooler temperatures on the North Sea and Baltic coastlines.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, where the current heatwave is the longestever recorded - with temperatures set to reach 35 degrees on Friday people are beginning to experience water shortages, even if drinking supplies remain unaffected for now.
Sweden
With almost no rainfall since May, Sweden experienced its hottest July in more than 250 years, with the drought and high temperatures sparking wildfires across the country, even as far north as the Arctic Circle.
A glacier on Sweden’s Kebnekaise mountain has melted so much that it is no longer the country’s highest point, raising concerns about the rapid pace of climate change.