Copernicus Sentinel data 2022,
H E A T W A V E S
The image above shows Europe in the grip of one of its worst heatwaves in history. The colour displays the temperature anomaly for June 2022 compared with the average June temperatures for the 21st century. Large parts of Europe experienced anomalies of +4°C and numerous European temperature records were broken.
Of the 152 Extreme Weather Attribution (EWA) studies carried out by scientists around the world over the past 20 years, 93 per cent of extreme heat events were deemed more likely or more severe because of human-induced global warming. The following are just a few of the heatwaves the world has experienced over the past 20 years. Each one was deemed to be more likely owing to climate change.
2003 – European heatwave. In Portugal, the temperatures reached as high as 47°C.
2006 – European heatwave. Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany recorded their highest ever July temperatures while in the UK, July was the hottest month ever recorded.
2008 – South Australia heatwave. Adelaide experienced maximum temperatures of above 35°C for fifteen consecutive days in March, seven days more than the previous longest stretch.
2010 – American East Coast heatwave. From 4 to 9 July, the majority of the coast was gripped in a severe heat wave with records dating back to the 19th Century being broken.
2016 – Indian heatwave. During exceptionally high temperatures in April and May, a national record high temperature of 51.0°C was set in the town of Phalodi.
2018-20 – Australian heatwave. December 2018 was recorded as the hottest December on record. Adelaide recorded its hottest day on record on 24 January, 2020, reaching 46.6°C .
2021 – European heatwave. In July, a heatwave began in Turkey, Greece, Italy and other countries in the region. On August 11, 48.8°C was recorded in Floridia, Sicily, the highest temperature ever in Europe
2022 – European heatwave (see title image above). The highest temperature recorded was 47.0°C in Portugal, on 14 July. The United Kingdom saw the first ever red extreme heat warning to be issued in the country. Coningsby reached 40.3°C which is the first time the United Kingdom has exceeded 40°C.
12 March – Comoros – 36.2C
13 March – Congo – 39.6C
23 March – Costa Rica – 41.5C
31 March – Togo – 44C
3 April – Mali – 48.5C
10 April – Belize – 42.3C
27 April – Cambodia – 42.8C
1 May – Ghana – 44.6C
1 May – Laos – 43.7C
7 June – Egypt – 50.9C
Heatwaves are among the planet’s most dangerous natural hazards. Higher than normal temperatures in any ecosystem can be lethal to the species living there, but often the most serious consequences of heatwaves result from their exacerbation of other factors.
High temperatures accelerate the evaporation of soil water leading to crop failure.
The dry vegetation becomes fuel for forest fires.
Extreme heat and stagnant air during a heat wave increase the amount of ozone pollution and particulate pollution in urban areas.
Demand for air conditioning rises dramatically during heatwaves, increasing the demand for electricity at a time when we need to reduce that demand.
On 22 July 2024, the daily global average temperature reached a new record high at 17.16°C. This exceeded the previous record of 17.09°C, set just one day before on 21 July 2024, and 17.08°C, set a year earlier on 6 July 2023.
In the space of just four months in 2024, the following countries broke their national record temperature:
