Record high temperatures were broken in Britain, Ireland, and France, with more severe heat expected in the coming days. A heat dome of warm air from northern Africa is trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe, creating conditions not usually seen until high summer. The planet is about 1.4°C warmer than preindustrial times, while Europe is about 2.4°C warmer, with most of the excess heat driven by human greenhouse gas emissions. Shifts in atmospheric circulation have increased the frequency and intensity of European heatwaves. High-pressure systems have become more common, and anticyclonic conditions can remain stationary as blocking highs, preventing other weather systems from moving into the region.
"A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer."
"Almost all of this heat is driven by the human-induced greenhouse effect from fossil fuel emissions, with the actual distribution of this excess heat determined by (several) factors."
"Shifts in atmospheric circulation have driven more frequent and more intense heatwaves in the European summer, according to Copernicus. High-pressure systems, which bring settled weather and higher temperatures, have become more common in Europe, Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said."
"If you look over the last 20, 30 years, there has been a prevalence, especially in summer, of those sort of anticyclonic conditions that are making heatwaves more likely. Whether the increased frequency of that specific type of high-pressure system is due to climate change or is just a "statistical fluctuation" is still a scientific debate."
Read at The Local France
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