From Scandinavia to the Alps, Europeans endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths spread eastwards, with record-breaking temperatures breaching 40 degrees in some spots.
Denmark logged its highest-ever temperature after Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany had all experienced record heat in June and the weather system began rolling towards Poland.
The Danish Meteorological Institute reported a 37 degrees reading north of the city of Aarhus on Saturday, the highest on record since measurements began in 1874.
Scientists said the heatwave would have been virtually impossible without man-made climate change, which has made this week’s night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been even two decades ago.
In Ireland, Met Éireann said Saturday will be cloudier than previous days with patchy outbreaks of rain in the west spreading eastwards across the country through the morning. The rain will become more persistent and heavier at times in the afternoon and evening. It will be cooler, too, with highest temperatures of 17 to 22 degrees generally, warmest in the midlands, east and northeast, and a little cooler near Atlantic coasts.
Sunday will be marked by a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers and any dry weather is likely to be found in the east in the morning. Highest temperatures are set to range from 15 degrees in the west to 20 degrees in the east, in moderate to fresh southwesterly winds, easing later in the day.
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Karsten Brandt, a meteorologist at weather forecasting site Donnerwetter.de, said: “The heatwave is going to peak at the weekend at well over 40 degrees in some parts of Germany.”
On Friday, a new German record of 41.3 degrees was reached near the city of Saarbrücken, close to the French border, a spokesperson for Germany’s National Meteorological Service said, noting the reading was still preliminary.
The service issued extreme heat warnings for nearly all of Germany on Saturday as authorities urged people to save water. It said temperatures of 36 degrees were expected across the board in the country, with local highs of 42 degrees possible.
Temperatures rose well over 30 degrees across nearly all of Poland.
In France, dozens of people, both young and old, have died during the heatwave. Temperatures above 40 degrees have disrupted rail travel and power generation, and prompted authorities to put alcohol restrictions in place, close schools and postpone outdoor events.
Italy’s health ministry issued a red alert for the heatwave in 18 Italian cities including Milan, Rome, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Florence and Bologna for Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to climb as high as 39 degrees in some areas.
Friday was the warmest June night on record in Bolzano in the Italian Alps, with overnight temperatures not dipping below 25.4 degrees, the city’s meteorologist Dieter Peterlin said on X.
Seawater is seeping into Italy’s longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heatwave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese. The Po river has never fallen this low so early in the year, raising fears of a devastating drought in July in this corner of northern Italy.
The many Alpine lakes that feed the Po Valley, Italy’s agro-industrial heartland, are still about 60 per cent full. But farmers are drawing heavily from the waterways to irrigate fields parched by the heat. It rained this winter, but the mountain snow that used to replenish the lake has already melted due to climate change.
“We’re not in a drought situation yet, but at this rate there’s less than three weeks of water left in reserve,” said Damiano Di Simine, an expert with environmental group Legambiente.
The French prime minister’s office said although the heatwave is moving on, pressure on the healthcare system would persist and hospitalisations would stay high for several days.
Reports of wildfires in France are up compared to the same period last year due to the heatwave, officials say.
In Hungary, the country’s Paks nuclear power plant cut output on one of its four reactors by 243 MW due to high water temperature on the Danube River during a record heatwave, its operator MVM said on Saturday.
A measurement taken in the morning showed the cooling water temperature downstream from the plant at 29.7 degrees, exceeding a 29.5 degree intervention threshold, MVM said on its website. – Reuters