Visitors to Greenwich Park walk on the dry brown grass in London on July 23, 2018.DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/Getty Images
Record-breaking high temperatures, prolonged droughts and deadly wildfires have made it a summer to remember across much of Europe.
Britain is on track for the hottest and driest summer on record and the temperature is expected to reach as high as 35 C in parts of England this week, prompting the weather office to issue an amber alert, which is one level below a national emergency.
Much of northern Europe is also seeing record temperatures and drought conditions. The temperature hit 30 C in the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia this month and Norway reported a record high of 33.5 C in the city of Bardufoss. Heat and wind have caused around 50 forest fires across Sweden, which is experiencing the hottest summer in a century. Latvia’s government declared a state of natural disaster after a record dry spring wiped out hundreds of farms and Poland has asked for help from the European Union to compensate more than 90,000 farmers impacted by drought. Germany is also expecting crop yields to be down by as much as 50 per cent this summer.
In Greece, wildfires caused by the extreme weather have killed more than 70 people and injured at least 187. “Greece is going through one of its hardest moments,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday, after declaring a three-day period of national mourning. “Today Greece is in mourning, but we cannot allow grief to overcome us.”
The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, a division of the United Nations, recently issued a second Climate Watch advisory for Europe reflecting persistent drought and above-normal temperatures from now until Aug. 6. “This drought may be accompanied by water scarcity, local thunderstorms, risks of wildfires and harvest losses since soil moisture is reduced," the WMO said.
The warm weather has been caused by a slow-moving high pressure system that has been lodged for days across the southeastern part of Britain and northern Europe. The jet stream, the strong winds that blow from west to east at altitudes of roughly six kilometres, has also been weakened and pushed farther north, leaving the high-pressure system in place. Some scientists believe the jet stream has been impacted by the warming of the Arctic. The speed of the stream is largely determined by the collision of cold air coming southward from the Arctic and warm air moving northward. As the Arctic air warms, that temperature difference lessens and the winds slow down. That, in turn, means high-pressure systems remain in place longer, causing extended periods of hot weather.
In Britain, the impact of the hot weather has been widespread. Health officials have warned people to stay out of the sun, use sunscreen and “walk in the shade if you can.” Some areas in Eastern England haven’t had any significant rainfall since May 29 and June was the third driest month across Britain in more than 100 years, according to the Met Office weather service. The heat and sunshine have wreaked havoc for farmers, left water reservoirs dangerously low and closed part of the country’s longest canal.
United Utilities, which provides water to much of the Northwest of England including the city of Manchester, is introducing a hosepipe ban on Aug. 5 that will restrict people from watering gardens, washing cars or filling swimming pools. Other utilities have yet to issue formal restrictions but most have urged customers to limit their water use.
Not all of the effects have been negative. Bars, restaurants and camping grounds have been thriving and sales of many summertime products have soared. Sales of barbecue staples such as hamburgers and firelighters have jumped by as much as 47 per cent in the past month, according to a report released on Tuesday by retail consultants Kantar Worldpanel. Some stores have tried to take advantage of the heat wave by jacking up the price of electric fans and sunglasses by as much as 50 per cent, according to research done for The Times newspaper. The warm weather and England’s run at the World Cup also sent alcohol sales to a record summertime high of £287-million ($496-million).
Weather officials can’t say when the hot weather will end. Aidan McGivern, a Met Office meteorologist, said the heat wave could get worse. If predicted thunderstorms fail to materialize this week, temperatures could soar past 34 C. Beyond that, the weather office says the outlook for August is much the same: dry and hot.
Europe drought
Drought has seriously damaged harvests
in northern Europe.
Combined drought indicator
Based on precipitation, soil moisture and radiation
absorption data for the first 10-day period
of July, 2018
Vegetation stress following rainfall and soil
moisture deficit
Soil moisture deficit
Rainfall deficit
Partial recovery of vegetation
Full recovery of vegetation to normal conditions
Normal conditions
North
Atlantic
Ocean
SWEDEN
NORWAY
IRELAND
POLAND
GERMANY
BELARUS
BRITAIN
UKRAINE
FRANCE
ITALY
SPAIN
Britain rainfall map
July 23, 2018
% of 1981-2010 avg.
200%
175
150
125
75
50
33
20
IRELAND
BRITAIN
Note: Ireland data not available as Met Éire uses diffrent
calculations than its British counterpart
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
SOURCE:reuters; met office; european
drought observatory
Europe drought
Drought has seriously damaged harvests in northern Europe.
Combined drought indicator
Based on precipitation, soil moisture and radiation absorption
data for the first 10-day period of July, 2018
Partial recovery of
vegetation
Vegetation stress following
rainfall and soil moisture
deficit
Full recovery of vegetation
to normal conditions
Soil moisture deficit
Normal conditions
Rainfall deficit
North
Atlantic
Ocean
SWEDEN
NORWAY
IRELAND
POLAND
GERMANY
BELARUS
BRITAIN
UKRAINE
FRANCE
ITALY
SPAIN
Britain rainfall map
% of 1981-2010 avg.
July 23, 2018
200%
175
150
125
75
50
33
20
IRELAND
BRITAIN
Note: Ireland data not available as
Met Éire uses diffrent calculations
than its British counterpart
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:reuters;
met office; european drought observatory
Europe drought
Drought has seriously damaged harvests in northern Europe.
Combined drought indicator
Based on precipitation, soil moisture and radiation absorption data for the first
10-day period of July, 2018
Partial recovery of vegetation
Vegetation stress following
rainfall and soil moisture deficit
Full recovery of vegetation
to normal conditions
Soil moisture deficit
Normal conditions
Rainfall deficit
North
Atlantic
Ocean
SWEDEN
NORWAY
IRELAND
POLAND
GERMANY
BELARUS
BRITAIN
UKRAINE
FRANCE
ITALY
SPAIN
Britain rainfall map
July 23, 2018
% of 1981-2010 avg.
200%
175
150
125
75
50
33
20
IRELAND
BRITAIN
Note: Ireland data not available as
Met Éire uses diffrent calculations
than its British counterpart
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:reuters; met office;
european drought observatory
Paul Waldie