Europe’s Deadly Heatwave Breaks German Record & Halts Public Events
Temperatures broke June records in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands on Friday as the death toll from Europe’s heatwave climbed in Spain and France and authorities cancelled concerts and other public events because of health risks.
Germany’s highest ever temperature of 41.3C was recorded provisionally in the south-western city of Saarbrücken, just over the border from France, which this week endured its hottest temperatures three days in a row.
Although France’s heatwave has peaked, its health minister said the “emergence of deaths at home” was of particular concern.
The World Meteorological Organization warned of “major impacts” to health, ecosystems, agriculture and labour.
Spokeswoman Clare Nullis said: “We need to get used to it, unfortunately.”
Europe’s deadly June heatwave has moved slowly north and east, and Belgian forecaster David Dehenauw said unofficially that 40C had been recorded in Kleine Brogel, close to the Dutch border.
A top temperature of 39.4C was recorded in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. Meanwhile, in the UK a provisional June record of 37.1C was recorded at Cavendish in Suffolk.
At least 150 million people across the European continent were facing temperatures higher than 35C on Friday, according to calculations by the AFP news agency.
Czech meteorologists believe a 2012 record temperature of 40.4C could be broken on Saturday, while Austrian forecasters believe the national record will fall on Sunday. Balkan countries are seeing extreme heat too, with up to 39C forecast in Serbia over the weekend.
In Switzerland, the Beznau nuclear power plant took both reactors off grid on Friday because the temperature in the River Aare reached 25C, which is considered too high to cool the reactors sufficiently.
Across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and southern England, temperatures are reaching 5–12°C above seasonal averages, driven by a persistent high-pressure system, scientists at World Weather Attribution said on Friday.
The group found that June was warming faster than any other month and, over the region studied, the current heatwave was “the most severe ever recorded”.
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, but in Europe especially. It is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
The extreme heat led to a Eurostar rail service from Cologne to Paris breaking down east of Brussels with about 400 people on board on Friday morning. Three passengers were treated in hospital as a precaution, Belga news agency reported.
Source BBC
