It remains very hot in the south of Europe. In many places, the mercury quickly rose above 40 degrees again yesterday and records were broken, including on the French Riviera, Italy and Spain. In Sardinia, the thermometer went to 46.7 degrees, the highest temperature already measured in Europe this year.
According to climatologist Maximiliano Herrera – who specializes in extreme temperatures – the European annual record was set in the town of Nuraminis, in southern Sardinia.
But temperatures never seen before were also measured on the Italian island. For example, in Decimomannu near Cagliari in the south, the mercury rose to 46.2 degrees and in Olbia in the north to 43.0 degrees. Those are absolute records for those places.
Cannes
Absolute records were also set at some popular holiday destinations. In the French seaside resort of Cannes on the French Riviera, the temperature rose to 39.2 degrees for the very first time. And at the airport of the southern Spanish city of Málaga, the existing record of 44.2 degrees was equaled.
A record temperature of 40.8 degrees was recorded in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on the North African coast (Morocco) and 40.4 degrees in the Albanian seaside town of Durrës.
Weather maps showing the deviation from the average temperature show that the heat is in the south and east of Europe. In the north of Europe it is cooler than normal again.
Incidentally, this month is well on its way to becoming the warmest July since measurements began, reports EU climate service Copernicus Climate Change Service. The first fifteen days of July are already known to be the warmest ever recorded. Last June was also record warm.
“Climate change is heating up the entire climate system. And this year, in addition to this trend, we have two more phenomena that probably play a role,” says director Carlo Buontempo. He points to the natural phenomenon El Niño, which causes water warming in the Pacific Ocean, and unusually high ocean temperatures due to weaker-than-normal winds.
LOOK. What is the natural phenomenon El Nino? Our science expert Martijn Peters explains.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations said earlier this week that the European heat record may be broken this week. That is now 48.8 degrees, measured on August 11, 2021 on the Italian island of Sicily.
HEAT MAP. Scorching hot with temperatures of up to 46 degrees: that’s how hot it gets at your holiday destination (+)
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.