The southwestern German city of Stuttgart saw a heat warning with maximum temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celcius in some areas – Image: Andreas Friedrichs/IMAGO
A new study says Europe’s current heat wave would have been nearly impossible without human-driven climate change. And Germany is expecting things to warm up even more.
What you need to know
- A new rapid study says Europe’s record heat wave would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without man-made climate change
- The World Weather Attribution group said such extreme heat is now up to 200 times more likely than it was two decades ago
- Millions across Europe have faced temperatures above 40 C, with hot nights making recovery harder
- Researchers said nearly half of 850 European cities analyzed have reached or are expected to reach record heat-stress levels
Most northern Europeans are used to cold winters and relatively mild summers, and perhaps an annual beach vacation in countries like Greece, Spain and Italy.
But as humans continue to burn oil, gas and coal, releasing greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, Europe is becoming the fastest-warming continent.
And deadly heat waves are becoming more intense and frequent — even in once-cool countries like Germany and Ireland.
People living in warmer southern European countries have more experience in managing hotter conditions.
Germany’s highest recorded temperature was 41.2 degrees Celsius, set in July 2019 – Image: Frank Hoermann/Sven Simon/IMAGO
Climate change: Germany records provisional all-time high of 41.3C
The German Weather Service (DWD) has recorded a provisional temperature of 41.3 degrees Celsius (106.3 Fahrenheit) in the south-western state of Saarland — the highest ever measured in the country.
Several locations in the country also saw temperatures break 40 degrees Celsius on Friday, according to preliminary weather service data, surpassing the previous record high of 39.6 degrees Celsius for June.
Germany is expected to continue sweltering under record heat over the weekend, with the DWD warning that local temperatures in parts of the country could hit 42 degrees Celsius on both Saturday and Sunday.
WATCH: Europe hits record temperatures: Is this the new normal, asks Australian reporter
Europe has been roasting for days with record-breaking temperatures across the continent.
To understand what’s going on, we talked to Armel Castellan, the Extreme Heat Services Technical Advisor at the World Meteorological Organization and Theodore Keeping, the lead author of a new so-called “rapid study” by the World Weather Attribution that says the heatwaves Europe is now experiencing are driven by climate change and would not have been possible 50 years ago.
DW.com/NAN 27-06-26
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