In Spain, temperatures exceeded 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Andújar, a municipality in the south of the country, according to the weather service
AEMET. Nearly the whole country was under a heat alert Tuesday.
Heat alerts are in place for 23 countries in Europe Tuesday, with five at the most severe red level: Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Relentless, deadly heat is
tightening its grip on Europe, with temperature records expected to not just fall but be obliterated this week. Scientists warn this extreme heat is a huge problem for Europe and a wake up call to a new reality.
This week is yet another brutal reminder that European heat is becoming both more severe and more frequent. It marks the
second record-breaking heat wave in two straight months, with the potential for national all-time temperature records to be broken before Europe even reaches July, typically its hottest month.
“This isn’t the new norm at all; this is the foothills of absolute catastrophe,” said Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive care medicine at University College London
Heat alerts are in place for 23 countries in Europe Tuesday, with five at the most severe red level: Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Scientists say that even without El Niño, climate change is the driving force of extreme heat. “There’s a sad inevitability to all of this, with scientists like me trotting out the same quotes year after year,” said Friederike Otto, a climate science professor at Imperial College London. “Yes it’s climate change, yes it’s us, no it’s not El Niño.”
