The city of Larguay-le-Monthieu, in the Gard department of southern France, has just reached the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country: 45.9 degrees Celsius (114.6 degrees Fahrenheit), which is higher than the highest temperature that can now be reached in the Sahara Desert.
For the first time, France's National Meteorological Service has activated the highest level of heat danger warnings, and municipalities have introduced a range of measures to prevent heatstroke, including restricting traffic, encouraging more people to use public transportation, opening more city swimming pools, urging everyone to drink more water, closing thousands of schools, and more, while charities and municipalities are providing extra help for the elderly, the sick, and the homeless.
After all, in 2003 a heat wave of 44.1 degrees Celsius struck Europe, causing nearly 15,000 deaths in France due to lack of preparation. And yesterday afternoon alone, France's all-time high temperature record was rewritten three times: 44.3 degrees Celsius in Vaucluse, 45.1 degrees Celsius in Gard, and 45.8 degrees Celsius.
Not only in France, the heat wave is spreading throughout Europe.
The heat phenomenon of 2019 has not stopped since June, so to speak.
According to Gizmodo, this past week's scorching weather has toppled decades of June heat records in Germany, Poland, Andorra, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic, with a number of cities exceeding 40 degrees, which is extremely unusual for Europe.
Temperatures are expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius in many parts of Spain today as forest fires rage in Catalonia; Germany is imposing temporary speed limits on highways and other roads amid fears that asphalt roads will buckle and melt in the extreme heat, triggering self-immolations; and staff at the Hanover Zoo are providing ice and food to ease the heat for the animals.
The heat wave is mainly due to the interaction of hot air from the Sahara Desert in Africa and high pressure in central Europe, resulting in a persistent siege of hot air across European countries.
The good news is that the high temperatures associated with this heat wave will slowly decline over the next few days.
The bad news is that more extreme weather events will occur in the future as human economies grow and fuel consumption accelerates.
According to the World Meteorological Organization it is expected that more and stronger heat waves will likely hit the Northern Hemisphere in the summer of 2019. Based on the current trend of greenhouse gas emissions, such heat waves could follow every two years. They are having serious human impacts, such as millions of people in drought-stricken areas will not be able to drink water and people will die in large numbers due to the heat.
But until a 'tsunami' sweeps through a city, there will be no sense of crisis.
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