The United Kingdom broke the record for the hottest day ever on Tuesday, as a heat wave continued to “ignite” Europe.
The heat wave that settled over southern Europe last week has moved north, bringing record-breaking scorching temperatures and causing a national emergency in the UK.
According to the records, temperatures of 40.2 degrees Celsius were documented at Heathrow, England’s busiest airport, beating the previous record of 38.7 degrees Celsius in 2019.
Meteorologist Ben Knoll said: “The UK’s high temperatures on Tuesday are expected to be regarding 30 degrees Celsius higher than the global average maximum temperature…in other words, it’s completely abnormal on a global scale.”
This is the second heat wave to hit Europe within a month, with the accompanying violent fires in the Iberian Peninsula and France.
The exacerbation of heat waves is a direct result of global warming, according to scientists, as greenhouse gas emissions increase their intensity, duration and frequency.
For the first time, Britain’s Health Safety Agency issued a fourth-level alert, warning of the dangers of heat even to young people or people in good health.
Some schools will remain closed, while public transport disruptions are expected.
In neighboring Ireland, it recorded 33 degrees Celsius in Dublin on Monday, the highest temperature since 1887.
On Monday, the Netherlands recorded the highest temperature of the year, with it reaching 35.4 degrees Celsius in the city of Westdorbe in the southwest of the country.
On Tuesday, the temperature may reach 39 degrees in the south and center of the country, approaching the record level in the Netherlands of 40.7 recorded on July 25, 2019.
Belgium also expects record levels to be set, with the temperature likely to reach 40 degrees Celsius, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute. Certain working hours have been set for some professions that are affected by the heat.
In France, following several record levels recorded on Monday, it is likely that the temperature will decline significantly on Tuesday on the Atlantic front, so that the heat wave will move towards the east of the country, according to Meteo France.
Record temperatures were recorded in several cities, including Brest (northwest) with 39.3 degrees, Nantes (center-west) with 42 degrees, and Biscaros (southwest) with 42.6 degrees, according to the same source. The absolute record level in the country dates back to June 28, 2019 in Ferrargue (south) and reached 46 degrees Celsius.
France is still facing two massive fires in the Bordeaux region that have so far devoured 17,000 hectares of forest.
And 16,000 people were evacuated in the two areas concerned, while the temperature exceeded forty degrees Celsius, which raised the number of people who evacuated their homes to 32,000 within six days.