Europe has been told to “kick the fossil fuel addiction” as huge parts of the continent continue to swelter under record May temperatures.
Weather forecasters warn that several countries are trapped under a “highly anomalous and powerful” heat dome – an atmospheric pattern that locks in heatwaves and is becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change.
Dozens of European cities have witnessed temperatures far above the climatological normal high for this time of year, with London (+16°C) and Paris (+14°C) being hit the worst. Both France and the UK declared the hottest day in May on record this week.
Even typically cooler regions like Oslo experienced temperatures climb up to 18°C, an additional 3°C from average temperatures for late May.
“This record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it,” says Friederike Otto, a professor of Climate Science at Imperial College London.
