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Europe withers under an early heatwave from the Med to the North Sea: NPR

A child plays in a fountain during warm weather in London, Friday, June 17, 2022. A layer of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is bringing much of Western Europe with waves. The first heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to top 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) from Malaga to London on Friday.

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP


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Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP


A child plays in a fountain during warm weather in London, Friday, June 17, 2022. A layer of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is bringing much of Western Europe with waves. The first heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to top 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) from Malaga to London on Friday.

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

BERLIN – A layer of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is bringing much of Western Europe its first heatwave of the summer, with temperatures on Friday exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) from London to Paris.

Meteorologists say the unusually early heatwave is an indication of what will happen as global warming continues, raising temperatures Europe had previously only seen in July and August in the calendar.

“In some parts of Spain and France, temperatures are 10 degrees Celsius – huge – above the average for this time of year,” said Clare Nullis, a spokesman for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, said.

In France, about 18 million people woke up to warnings of a heatwave affecting about a third of the country on Friday. Wildfire warnings have been issued from the Pyrenees in the south to the Paris region.

Tourists soak their feet in the fountains near the Eiffel Tower or seek relief in the Mediterranean.

France has put in place measures to deal with extreme summer temperatures after a deadly 2003 heatwave that killed around 15,000 people.

On Friday, students were allowed to skip school in the 12 regions of western and southwestern France that were on the highest alert. The government has stepped up efforts to ensure nursing home residents and other vulnerable populations can be supplied with adequate water.

Temperatures in France have been on the rise all week and crossed 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday southwest. Nighttime temperatures are also unusually high, and the heat is extending into the generally cooler parts of Brittany and Normandy on the Atlantic Coast.

Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at the national weather agency Meteo France, told public broadcaster France-Info that temperatures are expected to break several records. He called the particularly early prolonged hot weather “a sign of climate change”.

Britain has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 32.4 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) at Heathrow Airport near London shortly after noon.

The heat wave has prompted the Royal Ascot equestrian event organizers to relax their strict celebrity dress code, with men being allowed to take off their coats and ties after the traditional chariot procession. Royal family members ended.

In the Dutch capital Amsterdam, people boarded a train to the nearest North Sea beach in the early hours of Friday afternoon while others sailed and paddleboarded on one of the city’s historic canals.

In Germany, where firefighters are tackling a number of bushfires, including one south of Berlin, the national weather agency predicts that large amounts of sweat will continue into the end. week, as heat moves into Central and Eastern Europe. It follows an unusually dry spring in Western Europe, with authorities ordering water distribution in northern Italy and parts of France and Germany.

Experts say climate change is already affecting precipitation patterns and evaporation rates across the region, with direct impacts on agriculture, industry and wildlife.

“The heat waves are starting earlier,” said Nullis, from the United Nations weather agency. “They are becoming more frequent and more severe due to the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are at record levels. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing today is a projection of the future. “

She noted that extreme temperatures have impacted other parts of the world in recent weeks. Nearly a third of Americans suffered some form of heat counseling this week. During months of scorching heat, India and Pakistan have seen mercury levels exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122 F) in some places.

The current heatwave in Europe began almost a week ago in Spain, where temperatures hit 43 degrees Celsius (109.4F). Spanish authorities expect the weather to start to cool again on Sunday.

Extreme temperatures and lack of rain have helped burn forests across Spain, taxing firefighting capacity.

The heat was also felt at a meeting in Madrid, where experts and policymakers gathered to discuss how to tackle drought and the growing spread of deserts around the globe.

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