A dry part of the bed of the River Loire at Montjean-sur-Loire, France, on 24 July 2019, as drought conditions prevail over much of western Europe. Photo: Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images
A dry part of the bed of the River Loire at Montjean-sur-Loire, France, on 24 July 2019, as drought conditions prevail over much of western Europe. Photo: Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images

By William Wilkes and Megan Durisin
24 July 2019

(Bloomberg) – Europe’s latest summer heatwave broke heat records just weeks after the continent had its hottest ever June, fueling concern that a shifting climate is triggering more extreme weather.

Germany probably set a new all-time temperature record of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit) in the town of Lingen in Lower Saxony on Thursday afternoon, according to the DWD federal weather service. Residents in Paris, London and Brussels fought to stay cool as temperatures soared 10 degrees Celsius above July averages, making those cities hotter than Singapore.

Forecasters said U.K. temperatures fell short of the 38.5 degree all-time record, but added a 38.1 degree reading in Cambridge was a new record for July. Thursday marked only the second time temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit have been measured in the country.

A woman sits in the shade as she looks at an empty city center in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on 24 July 2019, during a new heatwave with record-breaking temperatures. Photo: Rob Engelaar / AFP / Getty Images
A woman sits in the shade as she looks at an empty city center in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on 24 July 2019, during a new heatwave with record-breaking temperatures. Photo: Rob Engelaar / AFP / Getty Images

“This is clearly as a result of climate change,” said Andreas Friedrich, meteorologist at Germany’s DWD federal weather service. “If you’d have said five years ago we’d see temperature records fall this frequently, I wouldn’t have believed you.” […]

The heat is drying up some of Europe’s busiest rivers, making stretches of the Danube impassable to cargo and cruise ships and prompting at least eight nuclear reactors in France to scale back output. In London, engineers on the Underground railway network warned passengers to expect delays if tracks buckle.

Rhine river summer water levels, 1985-2018. Data: WSV. Graphic: Bloomberg
Rhine river summer water levels, 1985-2018. Data: WSV. Graphic: Bloomberg

“The likelihood of two record-breaking heatwaves have almost certainly gone up due to climate change,” said James Screen, climatologist at the University of Exeter in southern England. “More hot extremes is one of its simplest and well-understood effects.” […]

All-time temperatures in the Netherlands fell again on Thursday after breaking a record that stood for 75 years on Wednesday, according to the country’s meteorological office. Belgium posted a new highest temperature of 39.9 degrees for the first time ever, according to the country’s meteorological institute. [more]

European Breaks Heat Records With Paris Warmer Than Singapore

A woman walks past a window reflecting a thermometer showing a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on 25 July 2019, in Paris, as a new heatwave hits the French capital. Photo: Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty Images
A woman walks past a window reflecting a thermometer showing a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on 25 July 2019, in Paris, as a new heatwave hits the French capital. Photo: Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty Images

All-time heat records melt in Europe; 108°F in Paris

By Bob Henson
24 July 2019

(Weather Underground) – Visitors and residents alike are sweating their way through one of the worst heat waves in Western European history. Three nations—Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands—set all-time record highs on Wednesday, along with more than 60 cities across the region. Some of the all-time records broken were more than a century old. (These records are preliminary until confirmed by national weather agencies.) […]

Update (12:20 pm EDT Thursday): Paris smashed its all-time high with at least 42.6°C (108.7°F) on Thursday. […]

Update: Both Germany and the Netherlands have already topped their all-time national records from Wednesday by at least 1°C, according to these preliminary reports from Thursday:

All-Time Heat Records Melt in Europe; 108°F in Paris