Scientists say that the June heat waves that impacted much of the UK and Western Europe were made more intense because of climate change.
Forest fires in Portugal claimed numerous lives while emergency heat plans were triggered in France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Britain experienced its warmest June day since the famous heat wave of 1976. Temperatures hit 34.5oC at Heathrow Airport. During June, mean monthly temperatures about 3oC above normal were recorded across western parts Europe. France experienced its hottest June night ever on 21st when the average around the country was 26.4oC.
Researchers say that, human-related warming made record heat ten times more likely in parts of Europe.
Researchers with World Weather Attribution carried out a multi-method analysis to assess the role of warming connected to human activities in these record temperatures. Researchers found clear and strong links between Junes record warmth and human-caused climate change.
Robert Vautard, a researcher at the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE) states that “Hot months are no longer rare in our current climate. Today we can expect the kind of extreme heat that we saw in June roughly every 10 to 30 years, depending on the country,”
“By the middle of the century, this kind of extreme heat in June will become the norm in Western Europe unless we take immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
(Source: BBC News)