PARIS (AFP) – Temperatures were climbing on Sunday as Europe braced for a blistering heat wave with the mercury set to hit 40 degrees Celsius as summer kicks in on the back of a wave of hot air from North Africa.
Europeans are set to bake in what forecasters are warning will likely be record-breaking temperatures for June with the mercury set to peak mid-week.
Hot and humid nights can be expected, officials say, with many issuing guidelines for surviving the scorcher, and local authorities and hospitals on high alert for a surge in cases of dehydration, heat stroke, and other weather-related conditions.
They are also warning that the extreme heat could bring on violent storms.
Spain’s AEMET weather agency issued a “yellow alert” for severe weather on Sunday, but said it expected the heat to peak later in the week with temperatures soaring over 40 degrees Celsius, particularly inland.
“Temperatures may exceed 42 degrees” in the northeastern Ebro valley area from Thursday until Saturday, the agency said, indicating the heat could persist into early next week.
Britain’s MetOffice said it was particularly concerned that the heat wave could trigger “violent storms” and warned Britons to expect “hot, humid, and unstable” weather.
It issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday, saying the highest temperatures were expected later in the week rising into the 30s in central and southwest England.
In Germany, forecasters said they were expecting a week-long heat wave with temperatures that could break the 2015 record of 40.3 degrees, blaming it on a front of “warm air coming from the Sahara.”
And after last summer’s heat wave, farmers are again fearful the high temperatures could damage crops.
“Should we get tropical temperatures of 35 degrees or more, that would depress the crop yields,” farmers’ spokesman Joachim Rukwied told DPA news agency, saying grain crops had received just enough rainfall last month and were going through an “important growing phase.”