In the shade over 40 degrees: That's how badly the heat wave hit our favorite holiday countries
Created: 07/13/2022, 05:15
By: Martina Lippl
Heat wave threatens Europe: The world weather agency WMO has published a graphic from ECMWF.
© Screenshot twitter/ wmo
An extreme heat wave is building up in southern Europe.
The situation is getting worse in Spain and Portugal.
There is a risk of forest fires - water is scarce in some regions.
Munich - It's getting hot again, very hot and for days.
The Spanish weather service Aemet warns in a special report of a heat wave with temperatures well over 40 degrees in the shade across the country.
African air masses are flooding the Iberian Peninsula.
In Portugal, the risk of forest fires is extreme due to the heat and persistent drought.
During the week, the heat spreads across France and Italy, to the Balkans, Greece and Turkey.
In Germany, too, the German Weather Service (DWD) expects maximum values of up to 35 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday.
Spain: heat up to 44 degrees in the shade
"The heat wave will most likely last until the end of the week," said the national weather agency Aemet.
The extreme heat situation in Spain is not expected to end until Sunday (July 17, 2022).
In the new heat wave, maximum values of up to 44 degrees are reached between Tuesday and Thursday.
“Alert level 3” already prevails in large parts of the country on Tuesday.
It is a bit cooler at higher altitudes and on the Atlantic coast.
Apart from the heat, which affects large parts of the country, the Spanish weather service warns of very high UV radiation, which is extremely high in the Canary Islands.
A prolonged heat wave at this time of year is exceptional even for Spain.
It could be the hottest early summer in four decades.
And one of the three longest heat waves
Portugal: Extreme weather forecast with temperatures up to 45 degrees
Already at the weekend Portugal groaned under temperatures over 40 degrees.
Firefighters fought hundreds of forest fires in the north of the country.
There is no relaxation in sight.
The Portuguese weather service IPMA warns of extreme temperatures in the next few days - up to 45 degrees.
In particular, the weather service expects values of 46 degrees in the Alentejo, 45 degrees in the Tejo Valley and between 40 and 44 degrees in the north-east of the country.
It hardly cools down at night - it stays tropically warm at 20 degrees.
The forest fire risk is extremely high in the next few days.
The smallest spark could start a forest fire.
The Portuguese government has declared the rescue workers on high alert.
Portugal and Spain are a real heat hotspot.
In addition, there is extreme drought.
The climate on the Iberian Peninsula is the driest in more than 1,200 years, according to recent studies published in the journal
Natur
Geoscience
.
The US research team writes that most of the rain falls on the Iberian Peninsula in winter, when wet low-pressure areas flow in from the Atlantic.
But a so-called Azores high can block this weather situation.
And according to the scientists, large Azores highs have occurred more frequently in the last 100 years, according to evaluations of weather data and computer models.
The expansion of the Azores High in the industrial age is caused by human carbon emissions.
“What we are seeing here with the extension of the Azores High is bad news for winter precipitation in the Iberian Peninsula.
This has serious implications for agriculture and other sectors that depend on water resources," says co-author Dr.
Caroline Ummenhofer of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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State of emergency in Italy – Intense heat also in the mountains
Northern Italy has been suffering from a historic drought for weeks.
Drinking water in some regions is already rationed.
The Po - the lifeline of the region - hardly carries any water.
Some sections have completely dried up.
Farmers fear for their harvest.
Rising temperatures and climate change are to blame for the water crisis.
But Italy simply lets 42 percent of its "Oro blu" seep away.
A dispute about water has broken out around Lake Garda - Lago di Garda.
The plan to pump water out of Lake Garda to save the Po has met with resistance from Lake Garda communities.
However, vacationers on Lake Garda are unlikely to notice much of this.
In southern Italy, the fire brigades are increasingly fighting forest fires.
The land thirsts for rain.
But hot desert air will not spare Italy either.
The peak values are between 38 and 40 degrees at the weekend.
Particularly explosive: In the mountains over 1000 meters, up to 30 degrees could be possible.
The freezing level in the Alps is expected to be over 3500 to 4000 meters.
"Another blow to the glaciers already tested by the hottest episodes of all time," writes Edoardo Ferrara of weather
portal 3bmeteo.com
.
France prepares for heatwave
With the heat wave, temperatures in France are expected to rise to almost 40 degrees this week.
The French weather service Météo-France reports that the values will continue to rise over the course of the week, especially on the Atlantic coast and in the south-west.
In view of the drought, further forest fires are feared.
Already in June 2022, an exceptional and early heat wave broke many records in France.
A number of forest areas were closed to visitors, and the city of Nîmes canceled the fireworks on the national holiday, July 14th, out of caution.
In individual, mostly small communities, there were problems with the drinking water supply.
UK heat warning
The British weather service Met Office reports over 30 degrees in some parts of Great Britain on Tuesday.
However, according to the current forecasts of the weather experts, the peak of the heat wave – orange alert – will not come until the weekend: “Extreme heat” warning on Sunday (July 17) and on Monday (July 18).
"Temperatures will drop slightly over the next few days (although still warm enough for most of us) before rising significantly over the weekend," the Met Office tweeted.
The British weather experts are warning of temperatures that could reach over 35 degrees in the south east and are above the 30 degree mark.
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