Europe is in the grip of the most severe early heat wave ever recorded on the continent. According to current data from the World Health Organization and health authorities, the number of deaths related to extreme temperatures (so-called excess deaths) already exceeds 1300 people since the start of the heat wave. In France alone, around 1,000 victims have been confirmed, with local funeral homes in the Paris region experiencing serious capacity constraints.
The situation in recent hours
Last night, the phenomenon „tropical night“ left over 150 million people without the possibility of cooling down, with minimum night temperatures in Central and Eastern Europe, Italy and the Balkans not falling below 20–22°C.
- New temperature records: At the very end of June 30, a new absolute temperature record was confirmed for Hungary – in the city of Szechenyi, the thermometers reached 42.0°C, breaking the record from 2007. A few hours ago, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also announced unprecedented values for the end of June and the beginning of July of 41.9°C (Doksani) and 41.0°C (Tourna above Bodvou).
- Infrastructure collapse: In the early hours of July 1, German media and Euronews reported that highways in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt were blocked due to severely cracked and heat-damaged asphalt. In Leipzig, melted asphalt over tram tracks paralyzed public transport.
- Power outage and fires: Emergency power outages were imposed in Ukraine due to an overload of the air conditioning network. Meanwhile, large-scale forest fires spread overnight in Croatia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution consortium emphasize that this anomaly is “practically impossible“ without the influence of anthropogenic climate change. While Western Europe is feeling a slight cooling, the heat dome is currently positioned entirely over Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula.
Source: WHO, Al Jazeera and Euronews