Western Europe is set to experience another day of extraordinary heat on Tuesday, a day after France and Britain both recorded their hottest temperatures in May.
The hot weather comes as a so-called heat dome of hot air from North Africa has settled over Western Europe, bringing temperatures not normally seen until the peak of summer.
Scientists say Europe is warming faster than the global average amid human-induced climate change, making such heat waves more frequent and severe.
In Germany, temperatures rose above 30C (86F) for the first time this year on Saturday, with parts of the country expected to remain even hotter until Wednesday.
high temperatures in uk
In the United Kingdom, the Met Office weather agency said temperatures reached 34.8C (94.64F) in Kew Gardens, southwest London, on Monday, two degrees higher than the highest temperature in the country last May.
X said, “This heat will be extraordinary even in the middle of summer in the UK, let alone May.”
Temperatures in London at this time of year usually average 17C or 18C.
The record for the UK’s highest minimum temperature for May was also temporarily broken on Tuesday night, the Met Office said, describing it as a “tropical night”.
Last week, climate advisers warned that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists,” encouraging the government to adapt infrastructure such as schools and hospitals to meet conditions on a warmer planet.
France, Spain, Italy hot
In France, weather agency Météo-France said Monday was “the hottest day of the month of May recorded since measurements began across the country”.
It said the heat wave was expected to continue at least until the end of the week, issuing an orange heat wave alert – the second highest – for the north-west of the country on Tuesday morning.
The first temperature of the year above 30C was recorded in the capital Paris on Saturday, reaching 31.9C.
Civil protection services said a man died during a 10-kilometre run in the city on Sunday, although it had not yet been established whether the heat was responsible for his death.
A woman in Lyon died of heat stroke after a competitive fitness race.
Further south, Spain is expected to experience the highest temperatures of the heat wave this weekend, with temperatures possibly reaching 40C in some areas, according to the country’s weather office, AEMET.
Some parts of Italy have already banned working outside.
Similar rules were implemented last year too, but only from May 30.
Edited by: Richard Connor
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