Temperature records toppled as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe on Tuesday, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.
A temperature of 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport, Britain’s Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8 C (94.6 F) record set a day earlier. The provisional readings smashed the previous record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and 1944.
London also recorded a rare “tropical night,” defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 C (68 F).
Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday in the country’s southwest and widely remained above 20 C at night.
The national weather service, Météo-France, said a “heat dome,” with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above what used to be usual for this time of year.
Unpredictable and extreme weather are becoming more frequent as Earth’s warming builds. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger.
After a U.K. long weekend that sent people flocking to beaches, pools and shady parks, London commuters sweltered on Tuesday in subway carriages without air conditioning. Trains to and from the busy Waterloo station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.
In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire that sent smoke billowing from Arthur’s Seat, the rocky hill that looms over Edinburgh.
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The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber health alert for large parts of the country through Thursday, warning of a potential health risk, particularly among older people, at the hottest times of the day. The U.K. is used to moderate temperatures, and many homes, schools and businesses do not have air conditioning.
At least three teenagers died in apparent drownings in U.K. lakes and reservoirs, and a 60-year-old man died in the sea in southwest England, authorities said.
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said there have been reports of at least seven deaths potentially related to high temperatures, including five drownings and two deaths in sports competitions.
The early heat wave has struck before the annual summer window when lifeguards watch over bathers at popular beaches, increasing risks.
On France’s Atlantic seaboard, where magnificent beaches have powerful riptides, officials reported a rash of emergencies in the surf, with two drowning deaths on Sunday at popular resorts in the Gironde region in the southwest.
The top regional administrator, Sophie Brocas, urged beachgoers “to exercise the utmost caution.”
The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Rubén del Campo said “we find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May.”
He said Seville hit 38 C (100 F) over the weekend, while large parts of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.
And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32 degrees C (89.6 F) on Tuesday.
20 to 35 people drown in BC every year
Oh no, what a drag. It’s been normal here between 28 °C and 35 °C in BC, so who cares about your fear-mongering and lying
As Willow says: a greater degree of accuracy would’nt go amiss.
Degree of humidity would useful to know, or a Heat Index value. That would indicate better the danger of overheating (heat stroke, which can quickly become deadly). High heat/high humidity is more dangerous than high heat/low humidity.
It seems there is not a universal heat index system. Canada and US have them. Not found a European version. They reflect the “feels like temperature” of the combined effects of humidity and temperature.
As for the deaths, several causes are possible; from lack of knowledge to induced medical crisis. Heavy price to pay sadly.
Fifty or a hundred years from now, people will look back at climate change nutbars like “Duke” and laugh their asses off. There’s a sucker born every minute. Many of them never learned to spell apparently.
Carbon tax working very well…
Spill = spell
I would take you seriously if you knew how to spill loser.
@ Robert James – its a weather if it happens one’s every decade. Climate change when if it happens more frequently in a decade. The reason animals are changing their migration patern and the reason there are more forests fires. We never thought of the need to of an AC system 15 years ago. Now, we do and some cities required it be part of new buildings. Keep denying loosers. It will effect you and your kids way of life…unless, you’re a keyboard looser and living in your mother’s basement.
It’s called “the weather ”
Deal with it.
What a misleading headline. The temperatures are higher than normal and yes many buildings don’t have A/C so it’s hot but the headline makes it sound like people died of the heat they drowned. If you are going to report do it responsibly and not with misleading and sensational headlines.