Extreme Heat Days Are Getting Hotter Faster in Parts of Europe
- Trend hasn’t been observed elsewhere in northern hemisphere
- Oxford study warns extreme patterns could have harmful effects
A person rests in the shade in front of a cafe in Madrid, Spain.
Photographer: Paul Hanna/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Temperatures reached on extreme weather days are increasing twice as fast as on regular summer days in parts of northern Europe.
While England and Wales have seen the average summer’s day get 0.26 C hotter per decade over the past 60 years, the jump was twice as high for peak temperature days, according to a new Oxford University study. Similar trends were observed in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands, underlining that as climate change intensifies, instances of extreme heat are also becoming more common.