The extreme heat wave, caused by the powerful atmospheric phenomenon “Omega block“, continues to block most of the European continent in the early hours of Sunday.
Millions of Europeans are experiencing another oppressive “tropical night“, in which minimum temperatures in a number of cities in Central, Southern and Southeastern Europe remain permanently above 20°C – 25°C. This deprives the human body of the opportunity to recover and puts unprecedented pressure on health systems.
Scientists from the international organization World Weather Attribution (WWA) have already announced that this June wave is the worst ever recorded on the continent for this month. According to their analysis, such extreme values would have been “virtually impossible“ five decades ago without the effects of human-induced climate change.
Historical records fall, heat moves east
Over the past 24 hours, the infernal heat has shifted from the hard-hit UK, Spain and France towards Central Europe, Scandinavia and the Balkans:
Germany: The National Weather Service (DWD) recorded an absolute temperature record for the country of 41.5°C at Drewitz station, in the eastern part of the country. The heat literally destroyed infrastructure – the busy A2 motorway buckled and cracked, and the asphalt split near Hamburg. Czech Republic and Denmark: Historical temperature maximums have been reached since the beginning of meteorological measurements – respectively 40.6°C in Doksani and 37°C in Yodum. Italy: The Ministry of Health has declared the highest level of danger (code red) for 18 major cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice. Along the Po River, the ecological situation is critical due to the intrusion of seawater deep into the land. Switzerland: The melting level of the Alpine glaciers has reached critical rates, comparable only to the record-breaking year of 2022. The nuclear power plant “Beznau“ had to shut down its reactors to prevent an environmental disaster in the overheated waters of the Aare River.
Social collapse and canceled events
The infrastructure of Northern and Western Europe, designed primarily to keep out the heat in winter, has been rendered completely helpless, with less than 20% of households having air conditioning. The extreme conditions have forced dozens of public events to be cancelled or postponed, including the prestigious Hamburg Half Marathon and the massive Defqon.1 music festival in the Netherlands. The traditional Pride marches in Paris and Milan were rescheduled or moved to the late hours of the day.
The rail operator Deutsche Bahn has urged citizens to cancel all non-essential travel due to the risk of track deformation.
What is the forecast for Sunday, June 28?
Meteorologists warn that today, June 28, the heat wave will reach its peak in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Values around and above 40°C are expected in Hungary and Slovakia, and in Serbia temperatures will reach 39°C. For Bulgaria and the region, the situation is expected to become more complicated and there is a high risk of forest fires.
However, forecasters also give a glimmer of hope – Later in the day on Sunday, a cold front will begin to move in from the west, bringing powerful thunderstorms and a gradual drop in temperatures over the next week.
Sources: Reuters, BBC News, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)