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2018 European heatwave

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Temperature anomaly in Northern Europe in July 2018

The 2018 European drought and heat wave is a period of unusually hot weather that has led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place.[1] According to the European Drought Observatory most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe.[2]

General

Researchers at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and World Weather Attribution estimated that global warming more than doubled the overall likelihood of the heat wave, and in some places like Denmark made it up to five times as likely.[3][4][5] The heat has built up for two months due to slow and weakened jet stream. One possible cause for the jet stream to be slow and weak relates to global warming. In the polar regions, the average surface temperature is rising more quickly than at mid latitudes in a phenomena called polar amplification. Many researchers believe a strong polar amplification reduces the strength and changes the pattern of the jet stream, producing patterns like occurred during the 2018 heat wave.[4] Dr. Michael Mann opined that global warming may be making such heat waves even more likely than the researchers estimated, because at the time of the study the climate models could not fully account for how the jet stream is effected by global warming.[4]

The extreme heat was blamed for forest fires and crop failures.[6]

Regions

Rank of the highest max temperature of the 2018 summer in Europe, until August. Dark red means record high since 1950, bright red second place etc.
The burnt landscape of the United Kingdom and northwestern Europe, 15 July 2018
North-Central Europe on 19 July 2017 (left) and 24 July 2018 (right)

Austria

Especially the west and the north of Austria have been hit hard by the drought. Insurance companies estimate the damage as high as 80 million euro.[7]

Denmark

The Danish summer has been exceptionally dry and warm, and several records have been broken: According to the Danish Meteorological Institute, May 2018 had the highest average temperature ever recorded for the month, beating the old record by 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) (recording began in 1879), the highest number of sunny hours recorded in the month (recording began in 1920), the highest temperature recorded in Copenhagen in the month (recording began in 1879), and it was the driest May in a decade.[8] June had the highest average temperature in 26 years and it was the third driest since recording began in 1920.[9] July was the sunniest ever recorded (recording began in 1920), and it was one of the driest and warmest ever recorded (recording began in 1879).[10][11] The night between 30 and 31 July was the second-warmest on record.[12]

Because of the drought, farmers experienced a significantly reduced harvest.[13] Outside fires and most types of barbecue grills were initially banned locally and later throughout the country due to the risk of fire. A total of 845 wildfires, both small and large, were recorded from 1 May to 5 July, which is about 500 more than the usual.[14] In July alone there were more than 1,000 wildfires, or almost as many as typical of an entire year.[15] Many foreign tourists, apparently unaware of the record-breaking weather, complained about the lack of air conditioning in hotels, which usually is unnecessary.[16]

Finland

Finland has experienced very high temperatures and drought, and like its neighbouring Scandinavian countries there have been several wildfires.[17] Its northernmost municipality of Utsjoki, north of the Arctic Circle, experienced a record-breaking temperature of 33.3 °C (92 °F) in July.[18]

France

The French utility company EDF made known that on the morning of 4 August 2018 it had to shut down reactor number one of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant. This was necessary because the nearby river which is used for cooling water had reached a critical temperature.[19] The white storks in the Alsace region have also been suffering under the drought and heat waves. The 2018 stork generation is generally malnourished. Many are too weak to fly and crash-land when they leave the nest, resulting in fatal injuries like broken legs or wings.[20]

Germany

Both April and May set new temperature records as the warmest April and May since modern record-keeping began in 1881.[21][22] June experienced continued heat, with averages temperatures 2.4 °C (4.3 °F) above the mean temperatures 1961-1990, while receiving only 57% of expected rainfall;[23] July experienced average temperatures 3.3 °C (5.9 °F) above the reference period and only half of the expected rain,[24] making it the fourth-warmest July since modern record-keeping began. The period from April-July is also the hottest and driest on record.[25] The heat also caused the deaths of many freshwater fish due to reduced oxygen levels in rivers and ponds, causing firefighters to pump in more water in order to raise the levels. Near Hamburg, almost five tonnes of dead fish were collected by German authorities.[10] On 26 July, regions in Western Germany hit 38 °C (100 °F); on 31 July 2018, the heat traveled further east where some regions hit 39 °C (102 °F). The Rhine and Elbe river recorded high water temperatures causing fish to suffocate, and low water levels made shipping worse.[6] The overnight low in Berlin between 31 July and 1 August was 24.4 °C (75.9 °F), the city's warmest night since 1905.[26] On 31 July, temperature reached 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) in Bernburg, coming 0.8 °C (1.4 °F) shy of the all-time German temperature record set in 2015.[27] Also on 31 July, the country experienced average highs of 34 °C (93 °F).[27]

German farmers have seen the drought affect their crops, potentially ruining harvests and forcing many to harvest early. There are fears many face bankruptcy in the event of a crop failure.[2] The German Farmer's Association have asked the government for over one billion euros in financial aid, as the expected harvest of rapeseed is down by 30% on last year and grain down by 20%.[10]

Many German nuclear power plants reduced their electricity output due to river temperatures being too warm for their cooling systems.[10]

Greece

See also: 2018 Attica wildfires

On 23 July, wildfires started in the areas of Attica, killing 92 people, and destroyed or damaged over 1,000 buildings.[28][6] The deadliest in living memory.[29] The cause of the fires is thought to be arson along with the heatwave causing the hot conditions.

The Culture Ministry closed the Acropolis between 2:00 and 5:00 pm. local time on 23 July, since in Greek law, public sites can be closed if temperatures reach 36 °C (97 °F) to prevent ill health.[30]

Rescuers found 26 bodies near Mati Beach, southern Greece, on 24 July and a state of emergency is called near Athens by the government om 24 July. [31]

Latvia

Latvia has seen fires that have destroyed around 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) of land including peat bog, scrubland and forest.[29]

Lithuania

The Lithuanian government has declared a state of emergency for drought.[32]

Netherlands

The Netherlands experienced a heat wave of 13 days between 15 and 27 July, the country's longest since the European heat wave of 2006. The highest temperature of 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) was measured in Arcen, Limburg, on 26 July.[33] Authorities are planning for water shortages in many parts of the country.[29]

A second heatwave started on 29 July, lasting at least to 6 August.[34]

Norway

The Norwegian government has imposed water restrictions and the cost of electricity is expected to rise due to a high dependency on hydro-electric generation.[32] In the Banak peninsula in northern Norway a temperature of 32 °C (90 °F) was recorded on 30 July 2018, which is considered extremely unusual for a region located north of the Arctic Circle.[6] In the first half of July there have been more than 40 forest fires.[17]

Poland

Authorities banned more than 50 beaches, due to the outbreak of toxic cyanobacteria, forming in warmer waters.[6]

Portugal and Spain

Portugal and Spain experienced record temperatures.[35][36] Portugal saw 46.8 degrees Celsius (116.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on August 4th in Alvega, Abrantes. [37]

Sweden

See also: 2018 Sweden wildfires

May 2018 was the warmest May and July 2018 was the warmest July ever recorded in Sweden.[38][39] Sweden is also experiencing widespread drought. More than 50 wildfires, ranging from north of the Arctic Circle to the southermost county of Scania, have occurred and have been called the most serious in the country in modern history by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.[1][40] They have burned over 25,000 ha (62,000 acres), with 13,000 ha (32,000 acres) in its central Kårböle region.[29] The Swedish government is preparing financial relief for many of their farmers who were hit by the dry weather, one farmer said their losses could be around SEK 500,000.[32] On 30 July 2018, the government offered SEK 1,200,000,000 in financial assistance to drought stricken farmers. Extreme forest fires and continuous drought conditions due to close to record high temperatures, caused short supplies for animal food, forcing farmers to resort to imports.[41]

On 30 July, the Swedish nuclear power plant Ringhals-2 was shut down, as ocean waters were too hot to cool the reactor.[42]

Switzerland

Switzerland had the warmest April-July period since meteorological records began in 1864. Likewise, 2018 broke the record for the least rainfall in any April-July period since 1864.[43] Fearing wildfires, authorities have completely banned outdoor fires in the canton of Valais and in the Rhine river valley of Grisons. 18 of the 26 cantons have restricted outdoor fires in some way.[44]

United Kingdom and Ireland

Main article: 2018 British Isles heat wave

From the start of June to mid-July the UK underwent their driest summer in modern records.[2] A heatwave was officially declared on 22 June and it has caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans and the 2018 United Kingdom wildfires. These series of wildfires worst affected moorland areas of the UK around the Greater Manchester region, the largest of which being at Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill which together burned over 14 square miles (36 km2) over a period of nearly a month.[45][46] On 29 June, Northern Ireland Water introduced the first hosepipe ban in Northern Ireland since 1995.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b McKie, Robin (22 July 2018). "The big heatwave: from Algeria to the Arctic. But what's the cause?". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c "The record breaking heatwave that is gripping northern Europe". Euronews. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Attribution of the 2018 heat in northern Europe". World Weather Attribution. Retrieved 3 August 2018."We estimate that the probability to have such a heat or higher is generally more than two times higher today than if human activities had not altered climate."
  4. ^ a b c Carrington, Damian (27 July 2018). "Heatwave made more than twice as likely by climate change, scientists find". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Droughts, heatwaves and floods: How to tell when climate change is to blame". Nature. 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Animals, crops suffering as Europe's heatwave hits new highs". AP. 2018.
  7. ^ "Klimawandel in Österreich: Land der Dürre". Note: As of 4th August 2018.
  8. ^ "Maj slår Danmarks ældste varmerekord – og giver ny dansk solrekord" (in Danish). TV2 Weather. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Juni bliver den varmeste og solrigeste i 26 år" (in Danish). Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d Grieshaber, Kirsten (31 July 2018). "Animals, crops suffering as Europe's heatwave hits new highs". The News & Observer.
  11. ^ "Juli er den solrigeste af sin slags nogensinde" (in Danish). TV2 Weather. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Den varmeste nat i 21 år sænkede sig over Danmark" (in Danish). TV2 Weather. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Landmænd lider i tørken: Markant mindre udbytte af høsten" (in Danish). JyskeVestkysten. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Usædvanligt mange naturbrande får ikke ubetænksomhed til at stoppe" (in Danish). TV2 News. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Naturbrande hærger: Brand i plantage er ude af kontrol" (in Danish). Politiken. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Mange turister er skuffede over danske hoteller i varmen" (in Danish). TV2 News. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Deadly forest fires are burning across Greece — this is where flames are scorching Europe". Business Insider. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Arctic Circle Burns As Record Heat Broils Northern Europe". LiveScience. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  19. ^ "La centrale de Fessenheim arrête un réacteur". Note: As of 4th August 2018.
  20. ^ "Par manque de nourriture, les cigogneaux en danger". Note: As of 4th August 2018.
  21. ^ Florian Imbery, Karsten Friedrich, Rainer Fleckenstein, Frank Kaspar, Markus Ziese, Jens Fildebrandt, and Corina Schube (4 June 2018). "Mai 2018: Zweiter monatlicher Temperaturrekord in Folge, regional mit Dürren und Starkniederschlägen" [May 2018: Second consecutive monthly temperature record, with regional drought and heavy precipitation] (PDF). Deutscher Wetterdienst (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Florian Imbery, Karsten Friedrich, Rainer Fleckenstein, Peter Bissolli, Anja Engels, and Christina Koppe (2 May 2018). "Wärmster April seit 1881 mit sommerlichen Temperaturen in Deutschland" [Warmest April since 1881, with summer temperatures in Germany]. Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 29 July 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Deutschlandwetter im Juni 2018". Deutscher Wetterdienst (in German). 29 June 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  24. ^ "Deutschlandwetter im Juli 2018". Deutscher Wetterdienst. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Vorläufiger Rückblick auf den Sommer 2018 – eine Bilanz extremer Wetterereignisse" (PDF). DWD.de. 2018.
  26. ^ "So schlafen Sie bei der Hitze besser ein". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 1 August 2018.
  27. ^ a b ""Hoch Fennoskandien, überwiegend zyklonal"". Deutscher Wetterdienst. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  28. ^ "Greece wildfires: Dozens dead in Attica region". BBC News. 24 July 2018.
  29. ^ a b c d "Heatwave grips northern Europe as Greece burns". Phys.org. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Greece: Heatwave closes Acropolis for several hours". Dailymail.co.uk.
  31. ^ "Greece wildfires: Rescuers find 26 bodies near Mati beach". News.sky.com.
  32. ^ a b c "European drought could cause global food shortages". The Weather Network. 27 July 2018.
  33. ^ "Hittegolf: vijftien temperatuurrecords en gesmolten asfalt in Groningen". Nos.nl.
  34. ^ "Tweede landelijke hittegolf van 2018 - Weer in het nieuws". Weerplaza.nl. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  35. ^ "Europe heatwave: All-time temperature could be broken". BBC News. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  36. ^ "Europe heatwave: Spain and Portugal struggle in 40C+ temperatures". BBC News. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  37. ^ "Heat Wave Hits Portugal and Spain Producing Near-Record Breaking Temperatures". Time.com. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  38. ^ "Ekstrem varme i maj bryder posten". Expressen.se (in Swedish). 29 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  39. ^ "SMHI bekräftar: Rekordvarm juli i år". Aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  40. ^ "What you need to know about Sweden's historic wildfire outbreak". Thelocal.se. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  41. ^ "Sweden Unveils Crisis Package to Help Drought-Stricken Farmers". Bloomberg L.P. 2018.
  42. ^ "Sweden's Ringhals-2 nuclear reactor offline due to high water temperature". Reuters. 2018.
  43. ^ "«Die wärmste April–Juli-Periode seit Messbeginn 1864»". Tagesanzeiger.ch (in German).
  44. ^ "Current forest fire danger in Switzerland". Note: As of 27 July 2018.
  45. ^ Mullen, Tom (28 June 2018). "Fire-ravaged moors community rallies round". BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  46. ^ "Winter Hill moorland fire 'under control'". 16 July 2018.
  47. ^ "Hosepipe ban introduced amid heatwave". BBC News Online. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
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