France's weather service also made the link, issuing a warning that without serious carbon dioxide reductions, heat waves could become more intense and frequent than in the past. or, by Kirsten Grieshaber And Seth Borenstein. Europe heatwave 2019: Which countries have been affected and how many people have died? A group of European scientists concluded that the June heat wave was made at least. We used statistical models of extremes such as the Generalized Extreme Values model, and applied them to both observations and simulations. A man cools off in a fountain in Rome, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The combination of heat, wind and possible lightning from thunderstorms also increases the risk of wildfires. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties. This allows us to assess (i) models’ skill to simulate extremes and (ii) how climate change altered the odds of extremes. "Either of the two European heat waves this summer would have been remarkable in isolation. The study was made possible thanks to a strong international collaboration between several institutes and organisations in Europe (DWD, ETHZ, IPSL, ITC/Red Cross/Red Crescent, KNMI, Météo-France, Met Office, the Radcliffe Meteorological Station in Oxford), whose teams shared data and methods, and thanks to the Climate Explorer tool developed by KNMI and the weather@home simulations provided by climateprediction.net volunteers. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no In the Lewisham district of the British capital, garbage collectors will start working as early as 5 a.m. in the morning to beat the heat. Heatwaves can be particularly dangerous to humans, and occur all over the world with increasing intensity. The Dutch weather service Weerplaza said that the southern city of Eindhoven reported a temperature of 39.3 (102.7 F) this afternoon. A Eurostar train traveling from Belgium to London broke down on Wednesday, trapping passengers in 40 degrees Celsius heat, without air conditioning. JUST WATCHED See how Europe is dealing with an extreme heat wave . The Dutch meteorological institute tweeted that Wednesday's heat wave broke a record that stood for nearly 75 years of the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Netherlands. Drought affects people in many ways, from reduced water & food supplies to increasing the risk of wildfires. People cool off in the fountains in Aalborg, Denmark, on July 24, 2019. London police warned people not to swim in the city's River Thames after a young man died there Tuesday night. The full impact is only known after a few weeks when the mortality figures have been analysed. Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK all reached record-breaking temperatures this week. Europe faces second 'intense heat wave' of the summer after hottest June on record Record-breaking temperatures are expected in Paris and London this week. It is noteworthy that every heatwave analysed so far in Europe in recent years (2003, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018, June 2019, this study) was found to be made much more likely and more intense due to human-induced climate change. Network Rail, which operates the UK's rail infrastructure, said that track temperatures in and around London were set to exceed 50 Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), almost double the average summer rail temperature in the UK. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Heat waves such as this one could become the new normal for Europe, driven by rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions, scientists say. The country is on high alert again, with temperatures of 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) expected in Paris. What Are People And Authorities Doing To Stay Cool? googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2'); }); Belgium registered its highest-ever temperature while the Netherlands saw its hottest day in 75 years. Medical Xpress covers all medical research advances and health news, Tech Xplore covers the latest engineering, electronics and technology advances, Science X Network offers the most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web. There, the observed temperatures, averaged over 3 days, were estimated to have a 50-year to 150-year return period in the current climate. Amid the sweltering heat, trains were canceled in a number of European countries due to risk of derailment. The slow jet stream is "a big part of the story when it comes to these very persistent heat extremes we have seen in recent summers," Mann said in an email. In sun-baked Kleine Brogel in northeastern Belgium, temperatures rose to 39.9 C (102.3 F), and the weather forecaster of the Royal Meteorological Institute said that it was "the highest ever Belgian temperature.". Click here to sign in with There are also public service announcements on television, radio and in public transportation systems about risks of high temperatures, telling people to drink water and watch out for isolated elderly people. In the U.K. the event was shorter lived (1-2 days), yet a new historical daily maximum temperature was recorded exceeding the previous record set during the hazardous August 2003 heatwave. Otto said that France took important mitigation measures after a heat wave in 2003 contributed to tens of thousands of premature deaths. A second record-breaking heat wave of 3-4 days took place in Western Europe in the last week of July 2019, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees in many countries including Belgium and the Netherlands where temperatures above 40°C were recorded for the first time. While temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit might not seem high in comparison to some other parts of the world, they are way above seasonal averages for much of Europe. The heat is putting pressure on authorities to help protect the elderly and the sick. That hot air is trapped between cold stormy systems in the Atlantic and eastern Europe and forms "a little heat dome," said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the U.S. In July, records were broken again, albeit in different areas. It's not just heat waves, and it's not just Europe. "France made heat plans to better prepare and reduce mortality. The city says in a statement that the salt "attracts moisture from the air and cools the asphalt." July 24, 2019… All four countries remain on extreme heat alert. France reached a scorching 45.9 degrees Celsius (114.6 Fahrenheit). "The reason for the cut in output is not because of a technical problem, but an environmental one regarding heating up the river water beyond what is safe for marine life," according to a spokesperson for the Nuclear Industry Association. The weather is also aggravating droughts since it hasn't rained much in many parts of Europe this summer. In all locations an event like the observed would have been 1.5 to 3 ºC cooler in an unchanged climate. Updated 2:28 PM ET, Wed July 24, 2019 . By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy These were activated during the June 2019 heat wave and measures including closing schools and setting up helplines reduced the impacts," he said. The few observation sites were selected to both include a large July heat wave signature and have long and homogeneous enough records with least perturbations from urban heat island effects. In the Netherlands, local authorities have taken an unusual precaution—with trucks scattering salt on the roads like they usually do in the winter. This document is subject to copyright. Those measures include a color-coded heat alert system to warn people when temperatures are expected to rise to dangerous levels in their area. Your feedback will go directly to Science X editors. Europe's heat wave is shattering temperature records and cities are struggling to cope By Isabelle Gerretsen and Jessie Yeung , CNN Updated 8:52 PM ET, Thu July 25, 2019 Note that return periods of temperatures vary between different measures and locations are therefore highly uncertain. On Wednesday, Belgium endured its hottest day ever recorded, with temperatures rising to 39.9 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit). On the weekend, temperatures are expected to fall. Heat waves pose serious health risks and can cause cardiovascular and respiratory systems to fail, resulting in premature death, Clare Heaviside, of the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute (ECI), told CNN. This study assesses how human-induced climate change has altered the likelihood and intensity of the July event or similar events. "On initial entry the water can seem warm on the surface, but further in it can be freezing cold and there are often very strong undercurrents.". At the end of June, several countries reported record temperatures, and France hit its all-time heat record: 46 C (114.8 F) in the small southern town of Verargues. Poisoning our kids, O'Rourke: We need to support the people of Puerto Rico, Pete Buttigieg: I would ask Trump to step aside, Warren: This is what fossil fuel wants us talking about, Student calls out Julian Castro's record on fracking, Tour de France riders are strapping on ice vests and guzzling water amid a scorching heat wave, Notre Dame's architect says the heat wave could cause the cathedral's ceiling to collapse, Climate change is seriously threatening human health, 'Unprecedented' wildfires ravage the Arctic. July 2019 is on course to be the hottest month in recorded history, and at the least equaled the record set in July 2016, new data via @CopernicusECMWF shows. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, and provide content from third parties. We do not guarantee individual replies due to extremely high volume of correspondence. Download the full study: Human contribution to the record-breaking July 2019 heat wave in Western Europe (pdf, 31 pages, 1.7 MB). Models that did not represent heat waves well were withdrawn from the analysis. In the German town of Geilenkirchen, a temperature high of 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 Fahrenheit) was recorded on Wednesday. Paris and other parts of France could see temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) on Thursday along with Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Belgium measured its highest temperature since records were first kept in 1833. All rights reserved. In the U.K. and Germany, the event is less rare (estimated return periods around 10-30 years in the current climate) and the likelihood is about 10 times higher (at least 3 times) due to climate change. Storms usually include heavy rain, snow or hail, strong winds and thunder & lightning.