Europe has just three days of summer and Mother Nature is rapidly increasing the heat.
A "potentially dangerous" heatwave is forecast to engulf the continent this week.
With the devastating heat wave of the summer of 2018 and the droughts still fresh in the minds of Europeans, many are wondering if this season will be more of the same.
Thanks to climate change, this type of heat waves occur more frequently.
"Heat waves are rising," Stefan Rahmstorf, co-chair of the Earth Analysis System at the Potsdam Climate Impact Research Institute and professor at the University of Potsdam in Germany, said in a statement.
Rahmstorf related recent heat waves to climate change when compared to 500 years of records.
"The hottest summers in Europe since 1500 AD have occurred since the last change of the century: 2018, 2010, 2003, 2016, 2002," Rahmstorf said.
Today, global heat records are breaking five times more often than in a stable climate, and according to Rahmstorf, what we are seeing is exactly what climate scientists predicted as a result of the increase in global temperatures caused by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas.
Record temperatures are expected this week
Temperatures are expected to rise almost 20 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) above the seasonal average of 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit).
The national meteorological service of France, Météo-France, warned of an increase in temperature throughout the week, and many cities, including Paris and Lyon, are approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), something that has never happened in June.
According to Météo-France, this heat wave "promises to be exceptional" for June. Heat waves are common in July and August. "Since 1947, the only heat wave of June occurred in 2005. This seems much more intense, unprecedented in June."
It is predicted that the frequency of heat waves like this "will double by 2050," said Météo-France, and without significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, they could be stronger and last longer than in the recent past.
The heat wave days in France could go from five per summer to 25, according to the statement.
The heat wave comes ahead of a stagnant storm over the Atlantic, which will pump hot air from Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.
The high pressure will also be stationed in the region this week, which will result in an air dome that will heat temperatures in Europe.
Heat waves are some of the most direct manifestations of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Europe is certainly not the only place where heat is felt.
Deadly heat waves will be a much bigger problem in the coming decades, will become more frequent and will occur in a much larger portion of the planet due to climate change, according to a study published two summers ago in the journal Nature Climate Change.
0 Comments