Why it matters: The World Meteorological Organization warned on Friday that this heatwave is a preview of the future, as heatwaves start earlier in the year and become more frequent and severe as a result of man-made climate change.
Prolonged, excessive heat is fatal, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly, infants, children and people with chronic illnesses.
In numbers: Spain’s meteorological service said on Friday it was the first heatwave in more than 40 years, while France’s meteorological service said it was the first to hit the country.
Biarritz in France broke the all-time heat record on Saturday with a high of 42.9 degrees Celsius, according to meteorologist Scott Duncan. This surpassed the previous all-time record of 4.14 ° F, which is unusual, as such long-term records are usually broken with smaller margins. On Saturday, 203 monthly high temperatures were recorded in France, along with 18 records for the hottest temperature observed for any day of the year, according to extreme weather expert Maximiliano Herrera. The nation’s hottest temperature on Saturday was 110.1 ° F (43.4 ° C) in Pisso, in southwestern France, where there were “red” warnings of extreme heat.
Zoom in: In a Twitter post, Herrera described the heat wave as “catastrophic” due to its intensity.
Monthly heat records also broke in Switzerland and Germany on Saturday, according to Herrera. Spain’s meteorological service said temperatures could reach temperatures as high as 107 ° F (42 ° C) in the northeast on Saturday, while large parts of the country could reach temperatures as high as about 40 ° C. In San Sebasti .n, Spain, along the Bay of Biscay, the high on Saturday reached 43.5 degrees Celsius, for an all-time record, Herrera wrote on Twitter. The Météo-France said that many meteorological stations across the country recorded temperatures that broke record heat on Friday.
The bubble of our thinking: This heat wave is breaking all-time records at a time of year that is not the peak season, which can worsen its effects on public health, as people are not yet accustomed to mid-range temperatures. of summer.
Climate change makes extreme heat waves much more likely and serious, with several heat waves in Europe being largely attributed to human greenhouse gas emissions. One of the first heatwave performance studies, in fact, described in detail the role played by climate change in a deadly heatwave in France in 2003.
The big picture: In the heat, forest fires have broken out in Catalonia, Spain.
One near Baldomar, about 87 miles northeast of Barcelona, has burned about 2,470 acres since the start of Thursday, though many thousands of acres are under threat. Other fires have broken out in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France as temperatures soared. The extreme heat put much of the Spanish country at high or extreme risk of fire on Saturday.
What follows: The heat is expected to subside in France on Sunday and move to Germany, although Spain, Poland and Austria will still have unusually high temperatures for several days, according to the Washington Post. Go deeper: Floods kill at least 18 in Bangladesh, India
