Topline
Record books across the world had to be rewritten this week as a series of intense heat waves gripped large sections of the northern hemisphere, headlined by a scorching European heat wave that in some cases shattered records by several degrees—here are the most shocking temperature readings.
Tourists pose for photographs on Westminster Bridge in London on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Key Facts
Coringsby in eastern England rose to 104.5 degrees (40.3C) Tuesday, obliterating the previous all-time record high in the United Kingdom of 101.7 degrees (38.7C) recorded in 2019.
Scotland and Wales also set their own all-time records during the early week heat wave, with Hawarden, Wales, hitting 98.8 degrees (37.1C) Monday and Floors Castle, Scotland, reaching 95.2 degrees (35.1) Tuesday.
Dublin set an all-time record high of 91.6 degrees (33.1C) Monday, which was the hottest temperature ever in Ireland during the month of July and the hottest recorded on the island since June of 1887.
Temperatures also rocketed across much of western continental Europe—Hamburg in northern Germany set an all-time record high of 104 degrees (40.1C) Wednesday, while Abed, Denmark hit 96.6 (35.9C), the hottest ever recorded in the country during July.
A separate heat wave in east Asia sent the mercury soaring there—Zhuoxi, Taiwan, hit 106 degrees Friday, setting a new record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on the island, while Sheng Shui in Hong Kong nearly reached 101 (38.2C), setting a record for the highest July temperature in Hong Kong.
The extreme heat in Europe has largely pushed to the eastern part of the continent, with Ljubljana, Slovenia—the country’s capital—rising to 100 (38C) Saturday, setting a new monthly record for the city.
Key Background
The extreme heat wave in Europe was caused by a ridge of high pressure that slowly moved up from north Africa, causing stagnant air while suppressing winds and cloud development. Especially in the U.K., the infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle such significant heat, which led to numerous fires across parts of London while airport runways melted in the stifling conditions. Climate experts say heat waves are among the most immediate and noticeable effects of climate change, and are likely to become more intense and more frequent in the future.
What We Don’t Know
It’s not clear at this point how many deaths will be attributed to the heat waves, but the number could be considerable. More than 2,000 deaths have been confirmed on the Iberian Peninsula alone from heat-related issues.
Tangent
The U.S. also dealt with sweltering conditions this week, with more than 100 million Americans living in areas under heat alerts, but all-time records were not broken in most cases. Salt Lake City, however, tied its all-time record high Sunday, hitting 107 degrees.
Further Reading
As The U.K. Burns In Extreme Heat, Where Is The Plan? (Forbes)
Heat Wave Watch: Here’s Where It Will Be Dangerously Hot In The U.S. This Week (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/07/23/week-of-heat-these-major-temperature-records-were-shattered-in-scorching-heat-waves/