Much of Europe has been suffocated by hot weather in recent days – in many places in the south of the continent temperatures approach 38ºC and there are few signs of relief. For experts, heat waves become more frequent and arrive early, exposing impacts on climate change. To make matters worse, this raises the risk of fires.
In Italy, heat alerts were issued for at least 16 cities. Paris even closed the top of the Eiffel Tower for visitors and, in southern France, a nuclear reactor had to be turned off, because the water discharge heated in a river would threaten wildlife. In London, Wimbledon’s tennis tournament had the hottest opening day registered – above 32ºC.
“In some places in Europe, we are experiencing temperatures that have never been recorded before, so it’s really uncommon,” said Carlo Buteonus, director of the Spain -based Copernicus climate change service.
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Western Europe is under the influence of a strong high pressure system, imprisoning dry air from North Africa, according to the World Meteorological Organization (MMO) on Tuesday.
The heat wave is the result of what is known as heat dome – a powerful area of high pressure in the atmosphere. It causes the air to come down, to compress and heat, suppress the cloud cover and results in a strong sun.
Intense heat will extend from France to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday, 2, before heading towards Poland on Thursday, 3.
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But Buteonus adds another factor. “With climate change, we are intended to see more intense, long and frequent heat waves, and that’s exactly what we are seeing.”
Europe, with a large contingent of elderly, tends to see more dramatic effects on the health of the population. According to the WMO, more than two thirds of severe heat waves on the continent since 1950 has occurred since 2000.
“The near future for Europe is dark. Dry and heat driven by fossil fuels will only get worse faster. There is no return in this – only continuous increase,” Peter Carter, director of Climate Emergency Institute, said on social networks.
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According to experts, extreme climate events – such as heat waves, strong storms and severe droughts – will become increasingly common in various parts of the world, including Brazil.
Summer 2024/2025 was the warmer sixth in Brazil since 1961, with temperature 0.34 ° C above the historical average from 1991 to 2020. The previous summer had already been the hottest in the historical series.
In 2023, Brazil registered nine heat waves and eight by 2024, according to the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet). These waves are characterized, according to WMO criteria, for maximum temperatures that are at least between 5oC and 7Cs above average for at least five days in a row.
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The number of days with heat waves in Brazil, according to a study by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), has increased eight times (from 7 to 52) in the last three decades.
Global warming is also linked to sudden variations of temperatures such as cold waves and atypical snow and hail.
(With international agencies)
