WE’VE SEEN FIRE AND WE’VE SEEN RAIN...
MARION McMULLEN looks at a summer of extreme weather
1 Lightning struck One World Trade Center in New York as Storm Henri hit the north east coast of America. Henri was downgraded from a tropical storm before it hit land at the weekend, but still drenched the region, pictured left. More than 140,000 homes lost power and deluges of rain led to closed bridges, swamped roads and some people stranded in their vehicles. 2
Sicily, above, was hit by the highest temperature in European history this summer with reports of 48.8°C. The heat has led to wildfires plaguing the region with Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria and also central Italy all badly hit. 3
Firefighters in Avila in central Spain battled fierce infernos with the mercury topping 47°C. A thousand people had to be evacuated and more than 5,000 hectares went up in flames.
4 An entire forest was burned on Evia island, Greece. More than 70,000 hectares have been destroyed by fire so far in the country this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. 5
Portuguese authorities said they could deploy more than 12,000 firefighters, some 2,700 vehicles and 60 aircraft during the summer season. Prime Minister Antonio Costa, left, urged people to take special care amid the scorching weather and wildfire risk. 6
One of Iceland’s largest glaciers has been melting in Europe’s heatwave. Breidamerkurjokull, pictured below, is receding at an average of 100 to 300m in length every year. Last month temperatures hit 26°C in the east of the country.
7 Intense heat has not been confined to Europe and the Mediterranean though. Hundreds died when a heatwave setting a record 49.6°C swept western Canada in June also causing wildfires.
8 Locals looked for ways to cool down in Washington DC as temperatures reached 36.1°C this month, and the US Forest Service said it was operating in crisis mode as wildfires continued to threaten thousands of homes and entire towns. There are roughly 21,000 federal firefighters working on the ground – more than double the number sent to contain forest fires this time a year ago.
9 The UK notched up two of the three wettest days on record last year. Global warming means the atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall. Moisture has already increased by 7% in the UK and many areas, including London, saw a month’s worth of average rainfall at the start of this month.
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Forecasters say Europe needs to prepare for temperatures of 50°C in future. Professor Peter Stott, of the Met Office, warned: “We can’t say exactly when it is likely to happen, but Europe will need to prepare for the eventuality... most likely close to the Mediterranean, where the influence of hot air from North Africa is strongest.”