“A vast and intense heat wave is underway in Europe as an unusually strong area of high pressure, also known as a “heat dome,” tightens its grip across much of the continent. This event is similar in its causes, but in many ways more intense, than the heat wave that enveloped much of Europe in late June and early July.
“Since peak summer temperatures typically occur in mid-July, it’s difficult to set all-time records during this time. However, such records are falling, which demonstrates the historical magnitude of this extreme weather event.
“Already on Tuesday, some all-time high temperature records had fallen across France. In Bourdeaux, for example, the high reached at least 106.2 degrees Tuesday, breaking the all-time record for that location by nearly a full degree, according to Meteo France meteorologist Ettiene Kapikian. Bourdeaux also set an all-time highest minimum temperature Tuesday, Meteo France reported.
“In Paris, the city’s all-time heat record may fall today or Thursday, if temperatures exceed 104.7 degrees. That record has stood since 1947. Current forecasts show a high of 107.6 in Paris on Thursday…
“London’s hottest temperature record of 100.6 degrees is also in jeopardy Thursday… In Portugal and Spain, the hot, dry conditions are escalating the risk of wildfires… Temperatures in Sweden and Norway are forecast to soar by the weekend… the all-time heat records of Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands “will be clearly threatened.””
“UK has hottest night on record:
“Conditions hit their peak at midnight in Brighton as the Met Office recorded temperatures of 27.8C, obliterating a nighttime record which has stood for almost 30 years. The previous record was also recorded in Brighton on August 3 1990, when the highest minimum temperature reached 23.9C.”
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17790825.long-standing-uk-weather-record-toppled-brighton/
“Paris is its driest in almost 150 years and temperatures across Europe are reaching extreme levels, scorching fields and shutting power plants.
“As temperatures climb across Europe, peaking on Thursday in Paris and London, the effects of extreme weather are becoming clearer. Electricite de France SA cut its nuclear output because river water is too warm to cool plants, power prices have jumped and farmers are frustrated by another bad spell for crops.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/paris-scorching-historic-drought-heatwave-040000638.html
“Cape Cod was hit by a rare tornado Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. There were reports of downed trees and power lines but no known injuries…
“Of the 1,253 tornadoes that the United States has on average each year, Massachusetts sees only one…”
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/23/us/cape-cod-tornado/index.html
“The Potomac River, which flows through the US capital Washington, hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend—as warm as bathwater—following a major heat wave…
“The United States sweltered in dangerously hot weather over the weekend.”
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-washington-potomac-river-high-temperature.html
“Authorities near Phoenix said a woman drowned in a flash flood Monday trying to reach safety from a truck trapped…
“Warnings for flash floods and severe thunderstorms had been issued for the area, ahead of an expected monsoon storm.”
“Heading into the hottest and driest months of [California’s] wildfire season, the Department of the Interior is short hundreds of firefighters, a result of recruitment problems and the longest federal government shutdown in history.
“Based on interviews and internal agency memos obtained through a public records request, The Times found that the agency had at least 241 fewer seasonal firefighters available than expected.”
“An upper level flow is pulling monsoonal moisture up from Mexico, raising humidity levels in typically-dry Los Angeles, where daytime temperatures have approached triple digits in the San Fernando Valley. Even closer to the beach, it’s hot.
“The mercury soared to 96 degrees today in Long Beach, breaking the daily heat record of 94 degrees, set in 1974…”
https://la.curbed.com/2019/7/23/20707893/los-angeles-heatwave-weather
“Poisoned bodies, dangerous blobs and dissolving snail shells: the threats facing the killer whale family J pod read like a horror film.
“The resident orcas of British Columbia’s South Coast have no natural enemies, but the toxins in their environment are creating unnatural threats that could wipe out the entire population of the Salish Sea’s top predator, scientists say.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/killers-jpod-oceans-harming-orcas-1.5220773
“Wildfires have consumed nearly 2 million acres in Alaska so far this summer. In the Southwest part of the state, fires have scorched almost 500,000 acres in the past month.
“Alaska climatologist Rick Thoman says that this year fits into a trend of longer and more devastating wildfire seasons.”
https://www.kyuk.org/post/alaska-wildfires-burn-almost-2m-acres-so-far
“Almost 44,000 people have signed a petition calling for authorities to declare an emergency in the Siberian Federal District due to wildfires in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions, RIA Novosti reported.
“As of Wednesday morning, wildfires had covered almost 846,000 hectares [over 2 million acres] in the north of the Krasnoyarsk territory, with officials saying that there was no immediate threat to cities and villages.”
https://www.rt.com/newsline/464918-wildfires-siberia-arctic-petition/
“At least 666 people have been killed by flash floods, lightning and torrential rain caused by the monsoon in South Asia, officials say, as further rain is expected in the region through the week.
“Millions have been affected in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where landslides and other effects of the rain have forced thousands to flee their homes.”
“Low rainfall and high temperatures are destroying the crops of Lao farmers across the country against the backdrop of an ongoing drought in the Southeast Asian region. Analysts say the lowest seasonal rainfall in decades will not only have a severe impact on farmers’ livelihoods but will also affect food security.”
https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/drought-destroying-the-future-of-lao-farmers
“Senior climate experts laying it all on the table, painting a dire state of affairs. Large parts of Australia are not just in a severe drought, this is the most severe on record and according to the BOM, it’s as bad as it gets…
“What makes the current drought a standout is the temperature. The last 12 months have seen record-high daily temperatures reached around the nation.”
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