When will the heatwave end in Europe?

This article was originally published in English

As much of Europe faces another heatwave, many are wondering when these stifling temperatures will end.

Almost all of France has experienced several days of alerts, with temperatures exceeding 30°C in several regions.

Record temperatures of Temperatures above 40°C are also expected in Italy in the coming days, as well as in parts of Andalusia and north-eastern Spain..

Hot and dry weather have also increased the risk of fires in southern Europe, where Greece and Albania have been fighting the flames for several days.

Monday was the hottest day so far this year in the UK, with temperatures of 34C recorded in the Cambridge area.

What is causing this heatwave and will it soon dissipate? Here are the experts' predictions.

Why is it so hot in Central and Western Europe?

Lars Lowinski, meteorologist for Weather & Radar, explains thatA combination of heat and humidity makes the weather very uncomfortable for many people in Western Europe.

Heat feels stronger when humidity is high because our bodies naturally regulate their temperature by sweating. This sweat evaporates into the surrounding air, cooling us down. When there is more humidity in the air, sweat does not evaporate as much, making us feel hotter.

“This same humid heat is affecting a large part of France, Benelux, Germany and other central European countries this week”explains the expert.

What is remarkable, adds Lars Lowinski, is that Warm weather also affects the far north of Europe, beyond the Arctic Circle and as far as Spitsbergen, east of GreenlandTemperatures there reached 20°C on Sunday, a record for August.

While the current heatwave is expected to ease in some European countries in the coming days, conditions will persist in eastern and southern parts of the continent.

“The peak of the current heatwave hit Western Europe on 12-13 August, and a gradual cooling is expected from Wednesday onwards.”explains Lars Lowinski.

“Meanwhile, eastern and especially southeastern parts of Europe will experience much warmer than average conditions through the end of the weekend. This follows a July that broke record heat in these regions, particularly in the Balkans.”.

How can we explain this heat wave?

“These high temperatures are due to a 'plume' of very warm air from North Africa and Spain, which was carried northwards ahead of a low pressure system in the Atlantic.”explains Lars Lowinski.

“While these incursions of warm air from the south are not unusual in summer, they tend to become increasingly warm due to climate change.”.

Sea surface temperatures in Europe are also rising, he adds, particularly in the Mediterranean.where they are sometimes 4 to 6°C higher than normal for the month of August.

“Water temperatures in the Mediterranean are often between 26 and 30°C, which further increases the heat and humidity”.

Will the hot weather in Europe continue until the end of August?

Although long-term weather forecasts are sometimes uncertain, Lars Lowinski believes that general trends can be identified.

Generally speaking, The latter show that mercury is expected to remain above normal, particularly in southern and south-eastern Europe..

What can be said, however, is that Very warm waters in the Mediterranean and off the Atlantic coasts of Western Europe will remain a problem in the coming weeks, as the sea can store a lot of heat. Water temperatures change much more slowly than land temperatures.

“This means that the heat stored in the sea will continue to promote warmer and wetter weather, unless there is a major change in weather conditions during the autumn.”explains Lars Lowinski.

He also warns that these higher temperatures on the sea surface and greater humidity in the atmosphere increase the risk of violent storms.

“This is a phenomenon that we have already observed this summer in certain parts of the continent”says the expert. “Thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by torrential rain and flash floods, are expected to affect central Europe, particularly over the next two days”.

Experts from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health have revealed that Heatwave killed more than 47,000 people in Europe last year.