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: European Heatwave Cerberus Singes Greece
Dear Diary. Across the pond Heatwave Cerberus has caused some dire effects, perhaps the worst being Greek wildfires. I also fear that the fatality count will be high in Italy where all-time maxes were broken across most of that country over the last week. I did see one article stating that Greece was becoming part of the Sahara Desert, which might be a bit of a stretch considering that Greece is surrounded by the Mediterranean. Meteorologically the Mediterranean will always be a good source for even weak disturbances to bring rain to Greece during the winter:
Back to Heatwave Cerberus, thankfully the heat dome in association with the system is shrinking and sinking southward, going back into the Sahara:
We have seen more extreme heat from Cerberus over the past 24 hours, though:
By Wednesday a cool trough will be sweeping though most of Europe, including areas affected by Heatwave Cerberus:
Unfortunately, we are seeing positive feedbacks from the heatwaves that have been affecting Europe the last couple of years. If the Mediterranean retains high levels of heat, it will be much easier for historic heatwaves to develop over Europe. Of course, this is the primary way that the greenhouse effect via carbon pollution causes global warming:
Here is more on one of the worst effects of Heatwave Cerberus, the fires in Rhodes:
Rhodes wildfires prompt mass evacuations, flights canceled to Greek island – The Washington Post
Wildfires ravage Greek island of Rhodes, forcing 19,000 to flee
July 23, 2023 at 10:32 a.m. EDT
Firefighters near a wildfire Saturday on the Greek island of Rhodes. (Eurokinissi/Reuters)
Wildfires raging across the popular Greek vacation island of Rhodes prompted authorities to evacuate 19,000 tourists and residents from danger zones, in what officials described as the largest ever preventive fire evacuation in the country’s history.
At least 164 fires burned in 58 places on the island in the past 24 hours, Greece’s fire service said Sunday, as residents were forced to leave their homes and summer vacations morphed into chaotic nightmares.No casualties had been reported, according to officials at the country’s Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.
The fires come as parts of southern Europe swelter under a heat wave that has forced many nations, including Greece, to issue warnings, with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Other fires have broken out in Greece this month, including in Athens, where the Acropolis was closed to tourists on July 15. More than 100 houses and businesses were severely damaged in the Athens blaze and another nearby, Reuters reported, citing local authorities.
European heat wave sparks multiple warnings, shuts Greece’s Acropolis
In response to the latest wildfires, airlines TUI and Jet2 announced on Sunday that they were canceling flights to Rhodes as tourists on the island took to social media to document their experiences.
The deputy mayor of Rhodes, Athanasios Vyrinis, warned Sunday that authorities were straining to cope with the large number of evacuees. “There is only water and some rudimentary food — we don’t have mattresses and beds,” he said, according to the BBC, adding that some people had slept in cardboard boxes.
A man carries a child away from a fire area Saturday on Rhodes. (Lefteris Damianidis/AP)
On Twitter, some tourists shared how they fled vacation resorts on the island — grabbing their children and running — as fires encroached on their hotels, while others spent the night in makeshift accommodations, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
“We are safe for now,” one tourist, Dan Jones, wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of three young children sitting on a boat, an orange sky behind them. “After wading into the sea and climbing on a fishing trawler, we are away from danger,” Jones said, describing the experience as “the scariest moment in my entire life” and thanking the local people who came to his family’s aid.
Last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his visit to Brussels and returned to Greece as other nations including Cyprus and Israel pledged help for the country.France and Italy sent aircraft to help the firefighting operation, while Slovakia sent around 30 firefighters and five fire engines.
In a Sunday update, Greek authorities described “extreme climatic conditions” prevailing throughout the country — which has sweltered in recent weeks — warning that “even the smallest fire can develop into a huge natural disaster.”
Last year, a U.N. report concluded that the risk of uncontrollable wildfires around the world is intensifying with the rise in greenhouse gas emissions. Even with deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, the U.N. analysis projected the risk would increase by 50 percent by the end of the century.
Tourists are evacuated Saturday on the island of Rhodes. (AFP/Getty Images)
Related:
Here are some other “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is more new June and July 2023 climatology:
Here is more climate and news from Sunday:
(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.)