Tino Romano / EPAMark Poynting, Climate reporter, Becky Dale, Senior data journalist, BBC Verify, Erwan Rivault, Senior data designer and Jess Carr, Data designer3 hours agoWe might only be a few days into July, but two record-breaking summer heatwaves have already provided the UK and Europe with a snapshot of their new climate.Hot on the heels of May’s heat, June saw temperature records not only broken but smashed in what the UN’s weather agency called an “extraordinary” event across the continent.And after a brief period of respite, another heatwave is on the way.If this feels unusual, that is because it is. But it is also exactly what scientists predicted in our warmer world, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels releasing heat-trapping greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.”Human-induced climate change has made events like this more likely and more intense,” said Prof Stephen Belcher, chief scientist at the UK Met Office.The intensity of these heatwaves is evident from how far temperatures were above normal in May and June averaged across the UK, marked here in red.While the June heat was strongest in southern England and south Wales, few areas escaped the warmth.Temperatures peaked at 37.7C in Lingwood, Norfolk, according to provisional figures. It was one of several stations to surpass the UK’s previous June high of 35.6C, set in 1957 and tied in 1976.”To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering,” said Belcher.Not every weather station has data as far back as the famous summer of 1976, but even some of the longest-running stations saw their previous records broken by 2C or more.”We normally expect the records broken by small amounts – tenths, maybe up to a degree or so,” said Ed Hawkins, professor of climate science at the University of Reading.”So to have it shattered by such a large amount is noticeable and extraordinary, and of course this comes after a similar event in May.”June’s heatwave may have felt particularly oppressive because it brought a double whammy of high temperatures and humidity. High humidity means it is harder for our bodies to cool down by sweating.It also stayed very warm even after the Sun had set, making it difficult to sleep. Our bodies rely on cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from the heat of the day.In Cardiff, temperatures did not drop below 23.5C on the night of Wednesday 24 June into Thursday – the warmest June night ever recorded around the UK.Most of England and Wales experienced at least one tropical night in June, where temperatures do not fall below 20C. Historically, these have been very rare in the UK.”We would definitely expect to see more and more tropical nights, as global temperatures keep rising,” said Hawkins.The same “heat dome” that brought extraordinary heat to the UK in June also saw records tumble across Europe.The German weather service, Deutscher Wetterdienst, named it “a heatwave for the history books”. The French weather agency, Météo-France, described it as “exceptional” and “historic”.More than a dozen countries across western, central and eastern Europe broke their June temperature record – with gaps of up to two or three degrees between old and new highs.Some countries faced temperatures above 40C and set a new record for any time of year – even though June is typically cooler than July.France and Spain also recorded their hottest June days in terms of a national average, although higher temperatures had been reached before at individual weather stations.”Compared to historical measurements, this was obviously very unusual,” said Sonia Seneviratne, professor at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.The Alpine nation reached 39C, surpassing the previous June record by more than 2C.”[But] I would say as a climate scientist, I was not that surprised to see this happen… when you know that we have a warming climate,” she added.Global temperatures have been rising ove …
