The first major heat wave of the summer has hit Europe, exposing millions of people to record-breaking temperatures, closing tourist attractions, and fueling wildfires due to dry conditions.
France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are among the countries affected by the extreme temperatures. Spain recorded its hottest June in over a century, and London’s St James’s Park recorded its hottest day of the year at 94 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday. France closed at least 1,300 schools due to the extreme heat.
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Reuters has reported that two people in Spain have died due to wildfires. In France, there were two deaths reported linked to the heat wave, with nearly 300 people taken to the hospital. Europe is still experiencing extreme heat, as the heat wave persists across the continent on Wednesday.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted, “Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal.”
“I’m experiencing it firsthand in Spain during the Financing for Development Conference. The planet is getting hotter & more dangerous — no country is immune. We need more ambitious #ClimateAction now,” he added.
What is causing the heat?
The scorching temperatures in Europe are mainly driven by a “heat dome,” a weather phenomenon resulting from a high-pressure system trapped in the atmosphere over a region. The pressure system is trapping hot air flowing from North Africa.
“The extreme heat is being produced by a dome of high pressure associated with a northward bulge in the jet stream,” AccuWeather Lead International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said, “This setup tends to lock out any cool air from moving southward and allows the air to get hotter in place.”
Tourist attractions closed
In France, the country’s weather service said Monday and Tuesday marked the peak of the heat, but the heat wave is set to continue across the eastern portion of the country. Temperatures are expected to reach around 93 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris on Wednesday.
The heat has caused the Eiffel Tower summit to remain closed throughout Wednesday. The Eiffel Tower staff urged tourists to protect themselves from the sun and stay hydrated.
In London, the Wimbledon tennis tournament experienced its hottest opening day on record, with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat fuels wildfires
The hot temperatures and drought conditions have fueled a wildfire in Spain. A wildfire broke out on Tuesday in Catalonia, the northeastern region of the country. The Associated Press reported that the wildfire had burned 16,000 acres of mostly grain fields. Two farmers have died due to the fire.
“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said.
“These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out,” Illa said.
Earlier this week, more than 50,000 people in five regions across Turkey were forced to evacuate due to wildfires.
Nuclear power plant shutdowns
The energy company Axpo shut down one of its nuclear power plant reactors in Switzerland due to the extreme heat, which caused high river water temperatures in the River Aare. Beznau nuclear power plant’s one reactor is operating at 50% capacity.
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“Due to the high river water temperatures, Axpo has been increasingly reducing the output of the two reactor units at the Beznau nuclear power plant for days,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Temperatures are expected to drop slightly starting tomorrow.