2019 European heatwaves

2019 European heat waves
Temperature anomalies during the week from 21 to 27 July with values of +5 to +9 in the red area.
TypeHeat wave
AreasEurope
Start date24 June 2019 (2019-06-24)
End date28 July 2019 (2019-07-28)
Losses
Deaths3,951+ deaths
  • Belgium: 716
  • France: 1,435
  • Germany: 500
  • Netherlands: 400
  • United Kingdom: 900

In late June and late July 2019 there were two temporally distinct European heat waves, which set all-time high temperature records in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.[1]

The first heat wave, in late June, killed over 567 people,[2] and according to meteorologists it was caused by high pressure and winds from the Sahara Desert affecting large parts of the continent.[3] It resulted in record-breaking temperatures for the month of June at many locations.[4][5] France experienced temperatures in excess of 45 °C (113 °F) for the first time in recorded history. A national all-time record high temperature of 46.0 °C (114.8 °F) occurred on 28 June in Vérargues.[6]

In late July, a second heat wave occurred, during which all-time records were broken by 3 °C (5.4 °F) in Belgium, by 2.1 °C (3.8 °F) in Germany and the Netherlands, by 0.3 °C (0.5 °F) in Luxembourg, and by 0.2 °C (0.4 °F) in the United Kingdom. The deaths of 868 people in France and one person in Belgium were reported, along with thousands of animals when ventilation systems in barns were overwhelmed. Due to high river water temperatures and sluggish flows, particularly in France and to some extent Germany, a number of thermal power stations that use once-through cooling and do not have cooling towers had to reduce output or shut down to avoid breaching environmental limits on river water temperature designed to protect aquatic life.[7]

  1. ^ Baker, Sinéad (25 July 2019). "Europe is battling an unprecedented heat wave, which has set records in 3 countries and is linked to at least 4 deaths". Business Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Record-breaking temperatures for June". Copernicus Climate Change Service. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  3. ^ "In pictures: Europe's June 2019 heatwave". BBC News. Ogimet.com. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. ^ Masters, Jeff. "Dangerous June Heat Wave Envelops Western Europe". Weather Underground.
  5. ^ "European countries set new June heat records". BBC News. 27 June 2019.
  6. ^ "C'est officiel : on a atteint les 46 °C en France en juin" (in French). Météo France. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output". Reuters. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.

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