Wildfires and power cuts plague Europe as heatwave breaks records – Hottest day in French history beats record by 1.8°C (3.2°F) – 2019 on track to be among hottest years ever
By Gus Trompiz and Joan Faus
29 June 2019
PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) – Hundreds of firefighters battled on Saturday to contain wildfires in southern France as a stifling heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of Europe, killing at least three people in Italy.
In the Gard region, where France’s highest temperature on record was registered on Friday at 45.9 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit), scores of fires burned some 600 hectares (about 1,500 acres) of land and destroyed several houses and vehicles, emergency services said.
More than 700 firefighters and 10 aircraft were mobilized to tackle the fires in the Gard, some of which caused sections of motorways to be temporarily closed. Several firefighters were hurt but no serious injuries were reported.
French media said a man had been arrested for deliberately starting fires in one Gard village.
The extreme heat was expected to ease on Saturday in southern France but highs were still forecast at close to 40 degrees. […]
The World Meteorological Organization said this week that 2019 was on track to be among the world’s hottest years, and 2015-2019 would then be the hottest five-year period on record.
It said the European heatwave was “absolutely consistent” with extremes linked to the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. […]
For a fourth consecutive day, unusually high temperatures above 43 degrees were forecast on Saturday across Spain.
Forty of the Spain’s 50 regions have been placed under weather alert, with seven of them considered to be at extreme risk, the national meteorological agency said.
In the northeastern city of Girona, the mercury reached a record high of 43.9 degrees on Friday, the Catalan city’s highest-ever temperature on record.
Firefighters managed to contain 90% of the wildfires that raged across 60 sq km (23 sq miles) of land in the northeastern Tarragona province, the Catalan government said on Saturday.
Two other wildfires in the central Toledo region were still burning, officials said. [more]
Wildfires and power cuts plague Europe as heatwave breaks records
Hottest Day in French History: 45.9°C (114.6°F)
By Dr. Jeff Masters
28 June 2019
(Weather Underground) – Friday was the hottest day in French history, as the mercury shot up to an astonishing 45.9°C (114.6°F) at Gallargues-le-Montueux in southern France. This destroyed the previous all-time national heat record of 44.1°C (111.4°F), set on 12 August 2003, by 1.8°C (3.2°F), according to Meteo-France.
At least one other station in southern France on Friday beat the former national record by 1°C as well: Villevielle, with 45.1°C. In all, a remarkable 12 stations beat or tied the former all-time national French heat record of 44.1°C.
All-time national heat record also set in Andorra
Friday’s extreme heat also affected northeastern Spain and the tiny Principality of Andorra, sandwiched between France and Spain. Andorra set their all-time national heat record on Friday with 39.4°C (102.9°F) at Borda Vidal. According to weather records expert Maximiliano Herrera, the previous national heat record was 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Andorra La Vella on July 16, 2005.
A significant record
All-time national heat and cold records are difficult to beat, particularly in a country with a dense observational network with many stations that have a long period of record, like France. Three remarkable features stand out about the new record:
- It was destroyed by a huge margin—1.8°C (3.2°F).
- The record was beaten in the month of June, several weeks before the climatological peak heat of late July. In the list of all-time European heat records maintained by Maximiliano Herrera, just three of the 53 all-time national European heat records have been set in June. Twenty-two were set in July, and 27 were set in August.
- The former national record was beaten or tied by at least twelve French stations on Friday (see tweet below).
More record heat on Saturday and Sunday
Europe’s brutal June heat wave is expected to last through Sunday over portions of Western and Southern Europe, thanks to a “stuck” jet stream pattern that has allowed a hot airmass from the Sahara Desert to flow northwards into Europe. Over the weekend, numerous stations likely to set all-time heat records not only for June, but for any month of the year. [more]
