Early heat wave: 'Heat Dome' triggers record May temperatures in Europe

As early summer hits Europe, people are already finding it tough to deal with the sudden surge in temperatures. As per reports, Western Europe is locking down for a week of extreme, unseasonal heat as a massive "heat dome" pushes May temperatures to historic highs. Countries from the Iberian Peninsula all the way up to the British Isles are bracing for conditions normally reserved for the peak of July. Weather agencies across the continent are issuing urgent health warnings as a result of this extreme weather anomaly.

Record-Breaking Heat
As per a leading digital daily, Spain and Portugal are bearing the brunt of the initial heat wave. In fact, it is expected that in some parts of Portugal the temperatures may go up to nearly 40°C. Areas of southern Spain are forecast to hit 38°C. Further north, France, Belgium, and the UK are preparing for a suffocating stretch of weather that sits significantly higher than their usual May averages.

Unprecedented Wave
According to France’s national weather agency, it has sounded the alarm over an "early, remarkable, and lasting" heatwave. Temperatures across the country are skyrocketing to 12°C or higher than the seasonal average. Multiple cities in the west of France are set to break May temperature records by several degrees, with Nantes expecting 35°C heat, which would break its 2017 May record by nearly three degrees.

The UK and Belgium
The UK's weather agency is warning of a notable heatwave pushing temperatures up to 33°C. If reached, this would officially break May temperature records for the country. Meanwhile, Belgium is sweltering under its own rare spring heat, with regional highs forecast to top out around 31°C.

The heat dome
According to meteorologists at Météo-France, this intense weather is caused by a phenomenon known as a "heat dome." Warm air moving up from Northern Africa has become trapped beneath a high-pressure system sitting over Western Europe. The effect is similar to that of a lid on a pot, with warm air forced downward and baking the affected regions with prolonged, blistering heat.

The Footprint of Climate Change
Weather experts are pointing directly to shifting global climates as the reason this phenomenon is becoming more common. Météo-France noted that these extreme atmospheric events are rapidly becoming a regular feature of European weather. The agency explicitly warned that we expect to see such heatwaves more and more frequently and that they will occur earlier and become more intense.

Health Alerts
The sudden spike in temperatures has forced governments to issue urgent safety warnings to protect public health. The UK has issued heat health alerts across parts of England, including an amber alert for London warning of significant impacts to health and social care services and a rise in deaths among the elderly and ill. Similarly, Spain has issued yellow heat warnings across parts of the north.