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A member of the Queen's Life Guard participates in the Horse Guards parade in London as temperatures reach record highs on Thursday. (Frank Augstein / AP)
Andrew Freedman
Editor-in-chief focused on extreme weather events, climate change, science and the environment.
July 25 at 12:46
A historic heat wave has reversed many long-standing temperature records with astonishing ease.
On Wednesday and Thursday, new heat records were recorded in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and temperatures reached record highs in cities like Paris, where they reached 109 degrees. It's the hottest Paris in history.
The heat wave, caused by a large area of high pressure extending into the upper atmosphere, also called thermal dome, is expected to cover Scandinavia in the next two days, before launching into the Arctic. This could significantly accelerate the melting of the Greenland icecap and increase the already record loss of sea ice.
Scientific studies show that heat waves are becoming more common, severe and long-lasting as global temperatures heat up in response to human activities, including in Europe. They are also now more likely to happen.
Records cleared
Temperature difference compared to normal Thursday afternoon simulated by the American model (GFS). (WeatherBell.com)
On Thursday, new national thermal records were set in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Paris and London both broke records on Thursday. In the Netherlands, Thursday marked the first time that temperatures exceeded 104 degrees (40 degrees Celsius).
According to Météo-France, Paris set a new record temperature record of 108.7 degrees (42.6 degrees Celsius) Thursday, breaking the previous record of 104.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40.4 degrees Celsius) established in 1947. As in the case of London In the rest of Western Europe, most Parisians lack air conditioning, which reinforces the health threat posed by such an intense heat wave.
In Lille, in the north of France, the temperature reached a record high of 105.8 degrees (41 degrees Celsius) on Thursday, surpbading by 5.4 degrees the previous all time record for this city. It is extremely unusual to beat the monthly temperature records and all the time so far, reflecting the intensity of the current heat.
Tens of millions of people in Western Europe are probably currently experiencing the most tangible effect of man-made climate change in their lifetime. pic.twitter.com/c1ubPwlvFF
– Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane) July 25, 2019
It's even harder to beat the all-time heat record in mid-July, knowing it's the hottest time of the year.
In Great Britain, Cambridge reached 100.6 degrees (38.1 degrees Celsius), which, according to the Met Office, is only the second time that temperatures above 100 degrees have been recorded in the country .
In Scotland, Edinburgh recorded its hottest temperature ever recorded, reaching 88 degrees (31.2 Celsius).
In Germany, a record of 107 degrees (41.7 Celsius) was set Thursday, which broke the old record set the day before.
the high temperature in London The Met Office said temperatures were still rising and the country's record could be reversed by the end of the day.
July in Paris has warmed ~ 2 ° C over the past 50 years. * Weather * records are largely due to internal climate variability. However, consider it as the 100 meter dash. If you gradually increase my length in advance, I will eventually beat Usain Bolt. pic.twitter.com/CGsmp9XAN0
– Rob Elvington WAAY 31 (@RobElvington) July 25, 2019
In Belgium, the temperature reached 103.8 degrees Wednesday, the hottest since records began in 1833.
As reported by the Washington Post of Europe: "Heat punishment – in historic cities largely devoid of air conditioning, especially in housing – has become the new standard of Europe".
"We are in a situation where people can not live," said Sacha Gaillard, a technician at Les Bons Artisans, a French company that, among other things, installs air conditioners. Gaillard noted that the company's cooling business in France has grown exponentially over the last five years. "[People] can not sleep at home. Air conditioning is no longer a comfort. It's a necessity. It's like people do not have heat in the winter, "said Gaillard.
The thermal dome is pointing north, very far north
The area of intense high pressure, also known as the blocking zone, as it deflects storms as a detour into the atmosphere, is expected to migrate north by the weekend, settling in Scandinavia. Sweden, Norway and Finland are likely to record heat records throughout the weekend. It is therefore possible that this meteorological feature will become an unusually warm event in much of the Arctic Ocean and Greenland.
Forecast for Sunday showing a powerful ridge of high pressure, badociated with exceptionally mild temperatures, in Scandinavia and the Arctic. (Weather Pivotal)
The consequences of this possible acceleration of ice melting in Greenland and in the Arctic Ocean. It is possible that this increases the probability that this year, the extent of pack ice will reach its lowest level at the end of the melt season in September. Ice extent is already at record levels as temperatures in the Arctic have reached record records from May to June.
And in Greenland, the icecap lost 160 billion tons of ice because of melting surfaces in July, according to Ruth Mottram from the Danish Meteorological Institute. It's enough water to fill about 64 million Olympic swimming pools, she said in a statement. tweet from the World Meteorological Organization. The melt season started unusually early, but did not exceed the magnitude or severity of the melt observed in 2012.
James McAuley in Paris contributed to this report.
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