[article] Europe is frying again.

mike65

from rte

Europe is enduring another day of blazing sunshine and rising temperatures as a heatwave that has killed about 40 people in the last two weeks intensifies.

Hotspots of more than 35C were noted in southern Spain, southwest France and northwest Italy.

A swathe of the continent from the east coast of France into Poland was expected to swelter in temperatures of 30-35C.

July is on track to be the hottest month in the Netherlands since temperatures were first measured there in 1706.

The Dutch meteorological institute, KNMI, says average daily temperatures in the first 24 days of July were a record of 22.3C, compared with the previous record of 21.4C in July 1994 and normal averages of 17.4C.

Temperatures in the Netherlands rose as high as 36-37C last week, when two people died during a walking event which was later cancelled.

In Germany, temperatures were forecast to reach 39C on Thursday in the southwest of the country and around Berlin, possibly surpassing record levels reached in 2003.

Navigation on the River Elbe in the north of the country had to be reduced because of low water levels, and the temperature of the water led nuclear power generators along the banks of the river to cut output.

High water temperatures have also disrupted electricity production at nuclear power stations in France and Spain. Water is used as a cooling agent at the plants but the temperature of their discharged water must be within environmental norms.

In Italy, a tornado ripped through the city of Turin in the northwest of the country, damaging about 50 cars and several houses.

In Britain, the heatwave that has already lasted ten days in many parts of the country is expected to produce higher temperatures mid-week before finally ending at the weekend.

Yesterday, the French Minister for Health, Xavier Bertrand, urged medical students and retired doctors to help in hospitals during the heatwave.

The death toll in France where almost 30 people have now died has brought memories of that in summer 2003 when 15,000 people died.

Surgeons, anaesthetists and obstetricians at private clinics went on strike yesterday in a row over fees and rising insurance premiums.

French officials have expressed fears that public hospitals could be overwhelmed if private facilities are unavailable.

Phew!

Mike.

darkman2

mike65 wrote:

from rte



Phew!

Mike.

We will never see that in this country, thankfully:D Its warm enough as it is...:cool:

mike65

I don't know how they cope on the continental mainland, even in the worst of it here the mere fact we're on a small island stops us burning up.

Some UK climatologist/met type was saying that in 50 years this summer would be considered slightly cooler than normal! :eek:

Mike.

Hagar

We are on an Orange weather alert here until Friday at least.
It is warm, it's 7:45 pm and 32 degrees.
The Conseil General du Var has made radio appeals for retired nurses, doctors, medical staff on holidays and medical students to volunteer their sevices as they are starting to feel pressure in the hospitals and clinics.

mike65

Its about 22 here.

Mike.

Takeshi_Kovacs

I guess in the near future, we will see increased number of people heading for Ireland, for the cooler summers, and warmer winters, as the continent bakes and freezes every year...

Gonzo

tbh defo think our summers even here are warming up a good bit not just this summer but others as well when temperatures wud be around 21 to 23C alot of the time. Over the past 5 years I feel our summers are becoming more summer like. I remember when being a kid that most summer days had rain and temperatures of around 17 or 18c and anything beyond 20C was considered a heatwave. But certainly we get perhaps the mildest winter of any country in Europe with temps of around 10C most of November to February. Overall on a year round basis it seems like recently were getting far less rain than we used to when I was a kid as well... its quite often we get 6 week spells even longer without seeing any rain other than a bit of drizzle.

mike65

Meath is just about the driest part of the country, and the mid-east coast area is generally the driest region. Last winter felt very dry to me (though I may imagining it).

Mike.

sunset

Just back from Croatia and the Adriatic. The water temperatures were so variable last week. Indeed off the beaches they could be described as 'cold'. On diving in one day it was really icey and I swam furiously for the shore and got out - and that is very unusual for me. Due to the offshore 'Bura' wind. So, beware of the impressions given by these headline generalisations. Europe's a big place and conditions vary a lot.