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Computer model depiction of the combination of heat and humidity across North Africa and Europe on Wednesday. (Earth.nullschool.net)<\/p><\/div>\n
Computer model depiction of the combination of heat and humidity across North Africa and Europe on Wednesday. (Earth.nullschool.net)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A weather station in Sicily may have set an all-time high temperature record for all of Europe on Wednesday, when the temperature\u00a0climbed to a scorching 48.8\u00b0C<\/a>\u00a0(119.8\u00b0F) amid a regional heat wave that has shown few signs of relenting.<\/p>\n The big picture:\u00a0<\/strong>The intense heat wave continues to roast the Mediterranean and northern Africa. The hot and dry weather has played a large role in creating the conditions conducive for\u00a0explosive and devastating wildfires<\/a>\u00a0in Turkey and Greece.<\/p>\n Details:\u00a0<\/strong>Numerous monthly and national temperature records have fallen during the heat wave, including in Greece, Turkey and Tunisia, but if verified through an examination of the weather instruments, the Sicily observation would be the most noteworthy. The previous continental heat record was 48\u00b0C (118.4\u00b0F), set in Greece in 1977.<\/p>\n Context:\u00a0<\/strong>As detailed in the\u00a0IPCC climate report released Monday<\/a>, human emissions of greenhouse gases are dramatically escalating the risk and severity of extreme heat events across the globe.<\/p>\n The intrigue:\u00a0<\/strong>There are some questions about the validity of the temperature reading, however. Randy Cerveny, the World Meteorological Organization’s rapporteur for weather records,\u00a0told the Associated Press<\/a>\u00a0the reading is \u201csuspicious, so we\u2019re not going to make any immediate determination.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound terribly plausible,\u201d Cerveny said. \u201cBut we\u2019re not going to dismiss it.\u201d<\/p>\n What’s next:\u00a0<\/strong>The hottest temperatures associated with this particular heat dome are expected to shift to Spain and Portugal in coming days, raising wildfire concerns in both nations.<\/p>\n A severe #heatwave<\/a> continues to affect much of the Mediterranean and north Africa 📈<\/p>\n Record challenging #temperatures<\/a> are likely in the coming days with the peak of the #heat<\/a> shifting towards Iberia by the end of the week ⚠️ pic.twitter.com\/mHGLzTEpZl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Met Office (@metoffice) August 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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