As temperatures soared to above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in various parts of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in June and July 2022, several long-standing records were shatteringly broken.
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“While there is a clear pattern of an ‘atmospheric wave’ with alternating warm (redder) and cool (bluer) values in different locations, this large area of extreme (and record breaking) heat is another clear indicator that emissions of greenhouse gases by human activity are causing weather extremes that impact our living conditions,”remarked NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Chief Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Steven Pawson.
The heatwave in Western Europe ignited wildfires in Portugal, Spain, and portions of France, which were already suffering from severe drought. More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of forest burnt in Leiria, Portugal, on July 13th, reaching 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Firefighters were battling 14 active blazes that put more than half of the nation on high alert.
There has never been a temperature this high in Britain before. A public health emergency has been proclaimed due to the extreme heat in the United Kingdom. Until five years ago, the average July temperature was approximately 20 degrees; now, that number may exceed 40.
Why is the heat increasing every year?
August weather in the UK has changed over the last two years. As a result, coolers and air conditioners are now being used in residences. This was a new experience for the British. Due to the unusually high temperatures at the moment, even British experts are perplexed. Because many roads have collapsed. Roofing made of glass is melting. Many people are in quest of cool locations.
Many nations in Europe are now in difficulty as a result of this heat. Forest fires have broken out in France and Spain as a result of the extreme heat, and they have already extended to residential neighbourhoods. A total of 14,000 French residents have been forced to flee their homes because of the danger of wildfires in nearby woodland regions. A helicopter-based water cannon attack is being conducted in Spain to put out forest fires that have been smouldering for days in the mountains.
In Europe, no one has found a way to escape the fury of nature. A timetable for reducing carbon emissions in order to combat climate change is being presented, but no one knows when it will come to an end. The amount of time in which the pollutants will remain under control is a mystery.
(With inputs from Reuters)
