5 hours ago

Europe Faces Record Heat for Second Month in a Row

Europe is sweltering through an intense heat wave that is setting temperature records in the U.K. and France. It comes on the heels of another record heat wave in May.

Britain is projected to see its hottest June day on record this week, with temperatures reaching upwards of 97 degrees F (36 degrees C) on Tuesday, according to the U.K. Met Office. The previous record was 96.1 degrees F (35.6 degrees C).

On Wednesday the heat could climb higher still, forecasters say, reaching 102 degrees F (39 degrees C). Researchers expect that records will fall as the planet warms, said Lizzie Kendon, a climate scientist with the Met Office. "What is so extraordinary, however, is the margin by which the [June] record will be broken."

In parts of France, temperatures reached 109 degrees F (43 degrees C) on Monday, according to Météo-France. Weather officials said that Monday evening was the hottest night on record in France.

The unprecedented hot spell comes after a May heat wave that also set a monthly record for the U.K. as a whole and at weather stations across much of France.

Driving the scorching temperatures is a heat dome that is trapping hot air from North Africa over the continent. "Think of it as a giant atmospheric lid, suppressing cloud formation and allowing relentless sunshine to bake the ground day after day," Akshay Deoras, a climate scientist at the University of Reading in England. "At the same time, air sinking beneath the high pressure compresses and warms, much like air heating up inside a bicycle pump when it is squeezed."

Research suggests that, as the climate warms, changes in the jet stream may be setting the stage for more heat waves in Europe. Climate change is also raising the baseline level of heat. Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with temperatures more than 2 degrees C hotter than in the preindustrial era.

Said Deoras, "Human-driven climate change has provided the springboard for this event, loading the atmosphere with extra heat and making extreme temperatures far more intense than they would have been in the past."