The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: Update on a Historic European Heatwave
Dear Diary. The forecast through this week into next weekend for western Europe looks quite dire. A historic European heatwave has a grip on the area and looks like it will be peaking by next Monday. I do have to snicker a bit because folks in London will be “suffering” through temperatures as hot as a low of 72°F with a record max of 95°F that day. This would be a slightly above average but typically hot day in Atlanta, Georgia where I live. We have plenty of high-powered home air conditioners to take care of this type of heat. It’s not funny that London, England, home to more than 10 million people, does not. I can’t imagine living in Georgia during the summer without A.C., but my ancestors did. Middle and southern Great Britain are bracing for widespread heat illness since a typical “hot” day would have an 82°F max.
Let’s look at the latest model guidance for Monday 7/18/22 pertaining to the forecast for heat dome orientation:
The culprit for spreading this Saharan heat northward will not so much be the heat done itself, but the cool upper level low (located on the above Pivotal chart off the coast of Portugal).
This system will be pumping heat northward then northwest into Britain for the better part of a week.
The heatwave has already produced dire conditions already across the Iberian Peninsula.
It does appear that the Mediterranean area, of which Spain and Portugal are part of, is undergoing drying and warming climate change faster than most parts of the planet. It has been suggested that an extension of the Azores ridge has been responsible for this change. Also:
For today’s main topic here is a Washington Post article on what has transpired so far across Europe:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/11/portugal-wildfires-heatwave-europe/
Wildfires rage in Portugal as punishing heat wave sweeps Europe
Temperatures are expected to rise to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) this week, experts warn
July 11, 2022 at 10:43 a.m. EDT
A man uses water from a hose to beat back a fire in Canecas, in the outskirts of Lisbon, on July 10. (Mario Cruz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Several wildfires are raging across Portugal, where a state of emergency has been declared amid a punishing heat wave sweeping Europe, where temperatures are expected to climb even higher in the days to come.
As of Sunday, an estimated 3,000 firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes, Portugal’s civil protection agency said, with areas along the outskirts of Lisbon the hardest hit. At least 29 people have been injured since the fires broke out, local authorities said Sunday.
The European Commission said Monday that it had “mobilized its firefighting fleet to help Portugal fight destructive forest fires,” as residents evacuated their homes in danger zones.
Weather experts in Portugal say temperatures of up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) could be reported from Tuesday in Alentejo — the region between Lisbon and the Algarve, Sky News reported. Strong winds of 40 miles per hour are also predicted across several regions. Local media reported Monday that fires in the districts of Santarém, Leiria and Vila Real were “the most worrying.”
Brush burns during a forest fire in Canecas on July 10. (Mario Cruz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Forest fires are not uncommon in Portugal, a heavily forested country that is fanned by winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Spain, which has also experienced devastating wildfires in recent weeks, sent Portugal two firefighting planes on Sunday, as the European Union said it stood “ready to provide further assistance.”
Experts say extreme heat and unseasonably warm temperatures will only become more frequent and severe as the world grapples with the effects of human-caused climate change. Last month, a historic heat wave across Europe broke records in France and Spain, where temperatures reached as high as 104 degrees, unusual for the month of June.
Scientists have long warned that climate change is extending the “wildfire season” in Portugal from two to five months, the BBC reported. In 2017, more than 100 people died following blazes that led to widespread condemnation of the government’s response to forest fires. Some emergency workers complained of a lack of equipment, while others said the forests were not properly managed or protected.
The current nationwide state of emergency means people are barred from forest areas deemed high risk and that farmers are asked not to use any type of machinery that may cause a spark.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa took to Twitter over the weekend, writing, “PLEASE DO NOT START FIRES AND DO NOT USE MACHINES.”
A firefighter is pictured during a wildfire at Casais do Vento in Alvaiazere on July 10. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
The use of fireworks at celebrations and festivals has also been banned amid the high temperatures and drought, the Associated Press reported.
The fires came on quickly in some areas. “It was very sudden, a lot of smoke, all of a sudden the old house was lit,” one witness told the BBC on Monday.
Firefighters battle a blaze in Cruzinha, Alvaiazere, Portugal, on July 10. (Paulo Cunha/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
In Spain last month, wildfires broke out near Valencia and across other parts of the country following days of extreme heat. In Italy, Rome recorded its highest temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 Celsius).
Poland and Austria were also hit by abnormally high temperatures as was Britain, a nation where air-conditioning is scarce — raising concerns for the elderly and the homeless.
Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist at the University of Reading, told The Washington Post that Britain was “really not prepared” for extreme heat, with offices, houses and nursing homes “not built to help keep people cool.”
Residents retrieve water from a swimming pool to extinguish flames during a fire in Canecas on July 10. (Mario Cruz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
By Jennifer Hassan Jennifer Hassan is a London-based breaking-news reporter for the Foreign desk at The Washington Post. Before joining The Post as a social media editor in 2016, Jennifer was global community manager for the international chat app Viber. Jennifer honed her breaking-news skills as the U.K. social media editor at MailOnline. Twitter
Related:
Here are some “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks:
Here is more June 2022 climatology:
Here is more climate and weather news from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)
(If you like these posts and my work please contribute via this site’s PayPal widget. Thanks in advance for any support.)
Guy Walton “The Climate Guy”