Latest news with #extremetemperature
CNA
09-07-2025
- Climate
- CNA
Deadly temperatures blasted western Europe in record hot June
PARIS: Western Europe sweltered through its hottest June on record last month, as extreme temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, the EU climate monitor Copernicus said on Wednesday (Jul 9). Dangerous temperatures stretched into July, with separate research estimating that climate change made the heat up to 4°C hotter, pushing the thermometer into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people and greatly worsening the projected death toll. Millions of people were exposed to high heat stress as daily average temperatures in western Europe climbed to levels rarely seen before - and never so early in the summer. Several countries recorded surface temperatures above 40°C, with heat of up to 46°C in Spain and Portugal, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. "In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe," said Samantha Burgess, the EU monitor's Strategic Lead for Climate. The two heatwaves, in mid and late June, were linked to heat domes trapping warm air over affected regions and worsening pollution and wildfire conditions. France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and much of the Balkans saw some of the hottest "feels-like" temperatures, which measure the impact on the human body by taking into account factors such as humidity. Maximum feels-like temperatures north of Lisbon hit 48°C, about 7°C above average and associated with "extreme heat stress", said Copernicus. Large parts of southern Europe also experienced so-called "tropical nights", when overnight temperatures don't fall low enough to let the body recover. "SILENT KILLER" Heatwaves are particularly dangerous for the elderly, the sick, young children, outdoor workers, and anyone exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods without relief. In separate research Wednesday, scientists drawing on historical weather data concluded the heat between Jun 23 and Jul 2 "would have been 2-4°C cooler" without human-induced climate change in all but one of the 12 cities studied. They also for the first time sought to estimate how many people may have died, concluding that there may have been some 2,300 heat-related deaths over that period in the cities studied. Around two thirds of those, or 1,500, would not have happened without climate change, said the researchers, stressing that their estimate was just a snapshot of the wider heatwave. No official death toll is yet available, and the study has not been peer reviewed. "An increase in heatwave temperature of just two or four degrees can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people," said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London. "This is why heatwaves are known as silent killers. Most heat-related deaths occur in homes and hospitals out of public view and are rarely reported," he told reporters. "EXCEPTIONAL" HEAT Burgess said the impact of the heatwaves in Europe was intensified by record sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean. They hit an all-time daily maximum in June. Sea surface temperatures across the western Mediterranean were "exceptionally high" in the month, some 5°C above average in some areas. Temperatures surged to a record 27°C on Jun 30, Copernicus said. The higher water temperatures reduced nighttime air cooling along the coasts, contributed to higher humidity, and harmed marine life. An AFP analysis based on Copernicus data, found that 12 countries and some 790 million people around the world experienced record heat last month. Dangerous heat blanketed parts of the United States, while in China, 102 weather stations logged the hottest-ever June day. Some measuring temperatures above 40°C, according to state media. June saw a catalogue of weather extremes across the world. Devastating wildfires blazed across parts of Canada and southern Europe, while deadly flooding swept areas of South Africa, China and Pakistan. The Copernicus dataset, drawing on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations, has recorded relentlessly rising temperatures as the planet warms as a result of humanity's emissions of greenhouse gases. Globally, last month was the third warmest June on record. The hottest June was in 2024 and the second hottest was in 2023, Copernicus said.
CNN
24-06-2025
- Climate
- CNN
It's the hottest day in over a decade for parts of the East Coast. When will this extreme heat wave end?
Extreme temperaturesFacebookTweetLink Follow A long-lasting extreme heat wave is reaching its dangerous crescendo Tuesday, likely bringing the hottest day in a decade to some major East Coast cities and putting millions of already fatigued Americans at risk. The brutal conditions, spurred by a potent heat dome, are peaking Tuesday after building over the weekend in the central US and reaching levels rivaling summer's hottest weather in the East Monday. It's already taken a serious toll. A St. Louis-area woman died after going without water or air conditioning for at least three days, police said Tuesday. The region has been gripped by searing heat that often felt above 100 degrees in recent days. The 55-year-old was discovered in her home Monday, according to St. Anne Police Chief Aaron Jimenez. Two high school graduations in Paterson, New Jersey, in Monday's sweltering conditions sent 16 people to the emergency room and over 150 people were evaluated for heat-related illnesses, Paterson Fire Chief Alejandro Alicea told CNN. In Baltimore, an Amtrak train stalled in a tunnel and left passengers trapped in the heat for over an hour Monday afternoon. 'I honestly thought I was going to collapse on the train, and I'm fairly young and in good shape,' passenger Laura Evans told CNN, adding several of the train's cars were without air conditioning even at the start of the journey. In nearby Washington, DC, five people were taken to the hospital with heat-related illnesses Monday following a concert at Nationals Park, according to DC Fire and EMS. Another person was transported prior to the concert. The extreme temperatures also prompted closures of some attractions, including the Washington Monument in the nation's capital, which closed Monday and remained closed Tuesday due to an Extreme Heat Warning, according to an alert on the National Park Service website. Nearly 160 million people in the eastern half of the US are under heat alerts Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Heat remains the deadliest form of extreme weather in the US. Globally, heat waves are becoming more frequent, more severe and longer-lasting as the world warms due to human-caused climate change. Nighttime temperatures are taking the hardest hit from climate change, and are warming faster than daytime highs. Extreme heat also takes a toll on infrastructure, causing materials like concrete and asphalt to expand and warp. Parts of key thoroughfares in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, suburbs were closed after buckling under searing heat Sunday, local officials said. More than 50 buckles were reported in the state, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Similar scenes unfolded in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the city warned more streets could crack as the heat persists. Rail travel faced continued challenges amid scorching temperatures Tuesday. Several Amtrak trains in North Carolina were canceled due to 'inclement conditions,' the company confirmed late Tuesday morning. Temperature-related speed restrictions were also in effect for multiple Amtrak lines in the Northeast. Tuesday will likely be the hottest day of the week for many in the East, but a level 4-of-4 extreme heat risk is in place through at least Thursday that stretches from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and includes parts of the Northeast. It feels more like July, summer's hottest month, than June for many locations Tuesday as temperatures rise 15 to 20 degrees above normal. Triple-digit high temperatures will set in from the Carolinas north into southern New England – including every major I-95 city. Tuesday in Boston could be hotter than it's ever been in June. The forecast high of 101 degrees would break the June high temperature record and come within 3 degrees of the all-time record. Philadelphia could also make a run for its all-time hottest June day – 102 degrees – with a forecast high of 101. A high of 101 degrees would also make Tuesday the city's hottest-ever day this early in the summer. The city broke Monday's daily high temperature record when it reached 99 degrees. New York City could hit 100 degrees for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday. The city's last triple-digit temperature happened on July 18, 2012, but it hasn't been 100 degrees during June since 1966 – nearly 60 years. Like Philadelphia, a high of 100 degrees would make Tuesday New York's hottest day this early in the season. Monday marked the city's hottest day in nearly three years. John F. Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, hit 102 degrees on Monday afternoon – the first time since 2013 and the first time ever in the month of June. Washington, DC, is forecast to notch its first 100-degree day of the year on Tuesday – something that doesn't typically happen until mid-July. A high of 101 degrees in the nation's capital would break Tuesday's daily record of 100 degrees. Parts of the East Coast will start to see some relief from the historically hot weather Wednesday, though it'll be a slow start. Wednesday will still be very hot, but not quite as extreme for many. Record-breaking temperatures are possible, mainly in the mid-Atlantic, but triple-digit temperatures will be a thing of the past for the Northeast. Heat more typical of late June will arrive on Thursday, but it will still be quite warm in the morning and prolong the agonizing wait for relief. Much of the Northeast will see highs in the 70s, with 80s and a few lingering 90s in the Mid-Atlantic. Cooler, more typical, overnight low temperatures will finally reappear Friday in the East, and normal late-June heat will last through the weekend. But temperatures are likely to creep back up above average early next week. This week's heat wave is likely only the opening act of a hot summer to come for the East. A hotter than normal summer is expected for the entire Lower 48, according to the Climate Prediction Center. CNN's Rebekah Riess, Chris Boyette, Sarah Dewberry, Taylor Romine, Amanda Musa, Jillian Sykes, Tyler Ory and Luke Snyder contributed to this report
Reuters
20-06-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
US cities prepare for extreme temperatures as heat dome blankets country
June 20 (Reuters) - Major cities across the United States are preparing for extreme temperatures caused by a heat dome that hit the U.S. Plains on Friday and is expected to expand to much of the rest of the country over the coming days. Potentially dangerous temperatures of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) or over are expected this weekend in parts of the Midwest, including Chicago, before spreading to the Ohio Valley and much of the East Coast towards the start of next week, according to the National Weather Service. A heat dome is a ridge of high-pressure air in the upper atmosphere that stalls and traps hot air while keeping cooler air away even at night. In preparation, Chicago is opening cooling centers across the city, Mayor Brandon Johnson told a news conference on Friday. City workers are also checking on people who are homeless living in camps, urging them to go to a cooling center. "Chicago knows better than any other city in America of the danger of extreme weather, particularly extreme heat," said Johnson, referring to the upcoming 30-year anniversary of a heat wave that killed 700 Chicagoans. New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged residents to locate their nearest cooling center. Adams said the city would open up an extensive network of cooling centers and was working to distribute heat safety information to vulnerable residents. Heat affects health in several ways. Heat exhaustion, which can include dizziness, headaches, shaking and thirst, can affect anyone, and is not usually serious, providing the person cools down within 30 minutes. The more serious version is heatstroke, when the body's core temperature goes above 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius). It is a medical emergency and can lead to long-term organ damage and death. Symptoms include rapid breathing, confusion or seizures, and nausea. Heat advisories were already in effect across cities in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas on Friday, with temperatures in Denver, Colorado, expected to rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit by 3 p.m. Some of the highest temperatures on Friday are expected in towns close to the Nebraska-Kansas border, with those in Kansas's St. Francis and Oberlin, and McCook, Nebraska, likely to rise to 105 degrees and over before the end of the day, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say it is difficult to link record-breaking heat experienced across the United States in recent years to human-induced climate change, but such extremes are becoming more frequent because of global warming.
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
UK has 50:50 chance of 40C temperatures again in next 12 years, Met Office says
The UK has a 50:50 chance of seeing temperatures soar to 40C again in the next 12 years, as the risk of extreme heat rises with climate change, the Met Office said. The meteorological experts also warned that far higher temperatures of 45C or more 'may be possible' in today's climate, while heatwaves could go on for a month or more. Temperatures hit 40C in the UK for the first time on record amid the heatwave and drought summer of 2022, peaking at 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19, outstripping the previous top temperature of 38.7C in Cambridge, set just three years earlier, by 1.6C. Major incidents were announced by fire brigades in London, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire as dozens of fires broke out and ripped through houses, schools, churches and farmland, while there was widespread disruption to transport and power systems. More than 1,000 excess deaths among older people were recorded around the four-day peak of the heatwave, with more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over summer 2022. Analysis by the Met Office, using global models to create a large number of climate outcomes in current conditions, shows the risk of 40C temperatures in the UK has been rapidly increasing. A study published in Weather Journal shows that the chance of temperatures hitting 40C is more than 20 times more likely than it was in the 1960s, and has almost trebled since the year 2000. With ongoing climate change pushing up temperatures, the chances of exceeding 40C are continuing to increase, with a 50:50 chance of a day hitting that threshold again in the next 12 years, the Met Office said. Temperatures several degrees higher than the July 2022 record – up to a maximum of 46.6C – are also 'plausible'. Dr Gillian Kay, senior scientist at the Met Office, and lead author of the study, said: 'The chance of exceeding 40C has been rapidly increasing, and it is now over 20 times more likely than it was in the 1960s. 'Because our climate continues to warm, we can expect the chance to keep rising. 'We estimate a 50:50 chance of seeing a 40C day again in the next 12 years. 'We also found that temperatures several degrees higher than we saw in July 2022 are possible in today's climate.' Its study also looked at heatwaves, and found that 'much more severe' extremes could occur in the current climate. The climate model shows up to two-thirds of summer days could be above the heatwave threshold of 28C in south-east England, with more than a month in continuous heatwave. And 12 consecutive days above 35C is also possible, the study says. Met Office experts said the findings showed the need to prepare and plan for the impacts of rising temperatures and extreme heat. Dr Nick Dunstone, Met Office science fellow and co-author of the study, said: 'The well-known hot summer of 1976 had more than a fortnight above 28°C, which is a key heatwave threshold in south-east England. 'Our study finds that in today's climate such conditions could persist for a month or more. 'These findings highlight the need to prepare and plan for the impacts of rising temperatures now, so we can better protect public health, infrastructure, and the environment from the growing threat of extreme heat.'
