Europe Endures 5th Heat Wave Since May as France, England and Wales Break Records
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Europe Endures 5th Heat Wave Since May as France, England and Wales Break Records
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Summary
A fifth bout of dangerous heat since May is gripping Europe, extending a summer of repeated extremes and pushing fresh records in France, England and Wales.
Scientists say the main driver is straightforward: fossil-fuel warming is raising baseline temperatures and making heat waves more intense across the continent.
France has seen daily records in late May and monthly records in June and July; a heat wave that began July 28 has now lasted longer than the country's deadly 2003 event.
England and Wales logged above-normal average daily maximum temperatures every day in July, and by early August had already set a yearly record for days above 30C.
Researchers are now probing whether climate change is not only amplifying heat waves but also altering the atmospheric patterns that make Western Europe especially vulnerable.