LONDON – Western Europe faced another day of record-breaking temperatures on May 26 as a heatwave pushed the mercury well above normal levels for May.
A so-called heat dome of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.
“It’s a bit worrying because it’s not really normal at this time of year. But unfortunately I think this is going to become the norm in France,” student Chloe Voisin, 22, said while touring the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
Britain and France both reported that May 25 was the warmest day in the month of May on record, with the French weather agency expecting May 26 to be even hotter.
The French authorities also reported on May 26 at least seven deaths linked to the heatwave – five of which were drownings, as many people sought relief on beaches and other bodies of water.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.
Britain’s Met Office weather agency said May 25 saw record highs of 34.8 deg C at Kew Gardens, south-west London, a full 2 deg C above the previous high.
Swiss tourist Philippe Bignens, 56, visiting London with his father, said they had to change plans and retreat to their hotel to avoid being outside at the hottest time of day.
“If you’re not concerned about global warming, you must be deaf, blind altogether, right? So it is there, yes. We have to be concerned and try to do something about it,” he said.
The Met Office forecast a drop later in the week.
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said the increase in extreme temperatures was “a good indication of climate change in action” and more likely to become “the new norm”.
“It is worrying, because it’s very hard watching older people in heat, like suffering a lot,” said Ms Renata Stankeviciute, 43, a Lithuanian chef living in London.
“I’m working in the kitchen, so it’s atrocious,” she added.
A man runs along the south bank of the river Thames, as heatwave conditions spread to parts of south-east England and London.
PHOTO: AFP
A record May temperature of 28.8 deg C was recorded at two of Ireland’s weather stations amid the current blast of heat, Met Eireann data showed.
Across the English Channel, tennis fans in Paris baked in temperatures of 33 deg C at Roland Garros, with players having to battle through the stifling heat.
After recording 34.7 deg C in the western town of Bergerac on May 25, highs of 36 deg C were expected in some regions on May 26, the French weather agency forecast.
Meteo-France said the spell was likely to last at least until the end of the week.
Government authorities also noted the heat had taken a deadly turn.
“What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths directly or indirectly related to the heat,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told television broadcaster TF1 on May 26.
The heat drove many people to France’s beaches to cool off in the water, even though lifeguard supervision is not due to start in many areas until July.
“We were just wondering this morning whether the beach was supervised,” Mr Thomas Dupuy said while visiting a beach in the south-western city of Anglet with his two young children.
“I’m extremely careful for myself, for my children who can’t swim yet,” he added. “We know the currents can pull you out, the Atlantic beaches are dangerous.”
Mr Benjamin Boisson, a fruit grower in southern France, said he was worried the extreme fluctuation in temperature would cause a sharp drop in production, as well as complicate storage.
Already, a previous warm weather spell forced him to harvest apricots five days earlier than planned in 2026, on May 1, he said.
“That may not seem like much, but it changes everything. The major retailers weren’t ready and are still selling Spanish apricots when they should have switched over to French ones,” he said.
Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) also warned of “extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year” that will continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Widespread tropical nights” are also forecast in south-western Spain from May 27, with temperatures peaking from May 27 to 29 at between 36 deg C and 38 deg C, it wrote on X.
Farther east, Italy’s Lazio region, which includes Rome, approved on May 25 rules limiting work in conditions “with prolonged exposure in the sun” between 12.30pm and 4pm.
Europe is the continent that has experienced the fastest warming since 1990, closely followed by Asia, with North America in third place, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. AFP