Europe continued to suffer from intense heat on Wednesday, and cooler conditions in the coming days may bring only temporary relief, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
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French and German health authorities have issued "red" warnings as a persistent high-pressure system - known as a heat dome - keeps much of the continent in the grip of dangerously hot weather.
According to forecaster Météo-France, daytime highs in central France could reach 39°C on Wednesday. This is below the peak of 41.3°C in Nîmes on Tuesday, but still well above seasonal norms. The country has been suffering from unbearable heat since mid-June, and the top of the Eiffel Tower remains closed to visitors.
In Germany, temperatures in the Upper Rhine Valley and Kraichgau region could also reach 39°C, according to the Deutscher Wetterdienst forecast. The extreme weather has triggered "amber" and "yellow" heat warning levels across much of the continent.
Temperatures could break records again this summer, as climate change increases the intensity and frequency of heatwaves, threatening the health of millions and straining energy systems, the publication notes. Hot weather increases demand for air conditioning energy and also threatens nuclear generation, as rising river temperatures limit reactor cooling capabilities, the publication writes.
This, as indicated, is a particular problem for France, which gets about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear generation. And in neighboring Switzerland, Axpo Holding AG on Tuesday shut down a reactor at the Beznau plant due to the warming Aare River, Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor reports.
While some parts of northwestern and central Europe will get some relief in the coming days and next week, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts models show high pressure returning by mid-July. In Spain, temperatures are expected to exceed the long-term average for most of this month, data from Atmospheric G2 and Bloomberg show.
In neighboring Portugal, the weather has cooled, although several areas in the interior remain at the second highest alert level.
According to forecasters, the scorching heat, caused by air from the Sahara and exacerbated by unusually warm seas, made last month the hottest June ever recorded in England and Spain. England had its driest spring in more than a century, and rainfall in January-June in Potsdam, Germany, was the lowest since at least the 1890s, according to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.