The French meteorologist, Météo France, said temperatures had already exceeded 35 degrees Celsius near the Mediterranean and would rise further from the middle of the week as the hot gas mass moved north, with parts of the south-west and the Rhone Valley reach 39 degrees Celsius. Even in Alsace, Brittany and the greater Paris area, temperatures were expected to reach – and in some areas significantly exceed – 30 degrees Celsius, meteorologist Patrick Galois said, adding that the French capital could reach 35 degrees. on Thursday. Galois said such incidents were “very rare” in June and then only at the end of the month. “If this episode is confirmed, it will be a record for how early it happened,” he said. Previous episodes of extreme temperatures in June, such as 2005 and 2017, had not started to develop before at least the 18th of the month, he said. The culmination of the episode should be reached between Thursday and Saturday, Méteo France said, adding that it is powered by a low-pressure system in the Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira, spurring a warm air uprising in western Europe. In addition to the unusually high temperatures maintained during the day, the mercury was also unlikely to fall below 20 degrees Celsius in several areas overnight, the French meteorologist said, possibly describing the incident as hot in some areas. In order for an extreme heat event to be officially classified as a heat wave, temperatures must normally exceed the specified day and night values that vary from region to region for a continuous period of at least three days. In neighboring Spain, temperatures in early June are the highest in at least 20 years, with 40 degrees Celsius recorded over the weekend in Seville and nearby Cρrdoba, 42 degrees Celsius in the Guantναnas Valley in Extremadura and 43 degrees Celsius in other regions. of southern Spain. “We are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June,” said a spokesman for Aemet, the state meteorological service, adding that the latest incident was the third earliest recorded and the first to arrive so early since 1981. The meteorologist said global warming meant that Spain’s summer had now started between 20 and 40 days earlier than 50 years ago. Last year was the hottest and driest in Spain on record, with temperatures reaching an all-time high of 47.4 C in the province of Cordoba. Extreme heat waves in the two countries follow the hottest May on record in France and Spain. France recorded temperatures that exceeded 38 degrees Celsius – about 17 degrees Celsius higher than the season average – in some parts of the south last month. The southern cities of Albi, Toulouse and Montélimar equaled or exceeded all previous records for the month of May, recording 33.7 C, 33.4 C and 33.8 C, while even northwestern Normandy reached 27 C, breaking a May record dating back to 1922. In Spain, a mass of hot, dry air blowing from Africa led to “extremely high” daily temperatures between 10 C and 15 C above some local monthly averages in a May heat wave of “exceptional and extreme intensity”. Spain recorded the highest temperature ever, 47.4 degrees Celsius, last August in the Andalusian city of Montoro. France’s record was set during the 2019 European heatwave, when Vérargues in the Hérault district reached 46 degrees Celsius. Drought is also becoming a growing concern, with 35 French departments already imposing water restrictions. Almost all of Portugal was characterized by a “severe drought” by the end of May, according to the national meteorological service Ipma. Last month was the warmest May in the country since 1931, with average temperatures over 3 degrees Celsius higher than usual and average rainfall just below 9 millimeters – about 13% of normal. Just over 97% of Portugal is in a “severe drought”. “This rainfall deficit is in line with the trend of the last 20 years, characterized by more frequent droughts as a result of climate change,” said Vanda Pires, an Ipma climatologist, adding that temperatures could also reach 40 degrees Celsius. Portugal this week. .
