Europe is bracing for more scorching temperatures this week following a weekend of record-breaking May heat that swept across parts of the continent.
Forecasters over at Severe Weather Europe warn that temperatures are soaring by 12-16°C above “long-term climatological norms” as greenhouse gases continue to fry the planet.
Southern and southwestern regions including Portugal, Spain and France are set to swelter under daytime highs of 38°C, with huge parts of France being placed under a moderate high temperature warning. Northern countries such as Germany and the UK are witnessing maximum temperatures exceeding 30°C.
France’s Météo-France weather agency blames a “heat dome” for the unusually high temperatures, with Severe Weather Europe agreeing that a “highly anomalous and powerful heat dome” has parked over Western and Central Europe.
“Air mass will be even hotter in the coming days for many countries, as the Heat Dome aloft intensifies further,” the weather forecaster says. “Because this pattern restricts vertical mixing and cloud cover, maximum and minimum temperatures alike will challenge historical monthly records across hundreds of stations in Western Europe.”
