Much of Western Europe is bracing for the first significant heat wave of the summer at the end of May, with temperatures expected to be more than 10 degrees Celsius above normal and hundreds of cities expected to set new monthly records, The Guardian reports.
Among the most affected are Portugal, Spain, France and the UK, where temperatures will exceed 30 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
By next week, temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees Celsius in Paris and London, and 35 degrees in south-west France. Highs of up to 38 degrees Celsius will be in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir regions of Spain.
“Both maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to reach unprecedented levels for this time of year in several regions, especially in the southwest, during an untimely heat wave that will be intense and last for several days,” said Météo-France, France's national meteorological service.
French meteorologists also warned that new records are almost certain to be set for the highest May temperature ever recorded in France and for the highest average May day temperature nationally.
“Heat Dome”
The exceptional temperatures, which are likely to exceed previous records by three or four degrees in some cities such as Nantes and Brest, were caused by a “heat dome”, with warm air from Morocco trapped under the high pressure of a powerful anticyclone, according to Meteo-France.
Meteo-France said temperatures expected in Brittany in particular were “quite remarkable so early in the pre-summer season” and were likely to exceed existing records by up to three degrees or more.
Due to climate change, Europe, the world's fastest-warming continent, can expect such exceptional heat waves to occur “more and more frequently and earlier, as well as to be more and more intense,” Meteo-France said.
Great Britain, on course to break a 1944 record
In Britain, The Met Office said temperatures could reach 33C locally on Monday, surpassing the highest recorded May temperature of 32.8C set in 1944.
In Spain, where temperatures already reached 38 degrees on Thursday, a two-year-old girl died in the northwestern region of Galicia after being accidentally left in her father's car for hours.
The state meteorological office, Aemet, said the heat wave was expected to extend into next week and could bring record temperatures in May.
“Typical summer heat is the expression that best describes the weather we will have in most of Spain in the coming days,” said Rubén del Campo, Aemet spokesman.
“Temperatures will be between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average – and 10 degrees Celsius above average for this time of year in northern regions. These are the temperatures we normally see in July and August,” it said.
