UK may have just had its hottest day on record as Europe sizzles
Brutal summer temperatures have turned England into an oven.
Europe is learning firsthand that there ain't no cure for the summertime blues. It's blazing hot across the continent, and the UK is the heatwave's poster child, with a provisional new record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the country.
The Met Office, the UK's meteorological service, announced on Friday the potential record of 38.7 Celsius as marked at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden on Thursday. That works out to just under 102 Fahrenheit.
❗Breaking News❗
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 26, 2019
A new provisional recording of 38.7 °C at Cambridge Botanic Garden has been received from yesterday
It will be quality controlled & if validated would be the highest temperature officially recorded in the UK
More here: https://t.co/1SJxix4VWb #UKHottestDay pic.twitter.com/7kfI17nOgx
If it stands, the new record will just barely beat out the previous one of 38.5 Celsius from Faversham in August 2003.
The Met Office is in the process of vetting the temperature by checking the recording site and equipment for any potential problems. If it passes muster, 38.7 will reign as the UK's new historic high. The Met Office warns that heatwaves caused by climate change are likely to become more frequent.
The UN's World Meteorological Organization tweeted an update on Friday tallying the toll of the European heatwave.
Update on the Europe #heatwave with new temperature records. pic.twitter.com/DSZIOWyYb9
— WMO | OMM (@WMO) July 26, 2019
Paris set a new record at 42.6 Celsius (almost 109 Fahrenheit) on Thursday. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands also posted new national temperature records.
The European Space Agency shared a satellite view of the sweltering temperatures on Thursday. There are plenty of angry red and orange areas on display.
#HEATWAVE2019 continues its relentless hold on Europe! This map uses @CopernicusEU #Sentinel3 data to show the land surface temperature across Europe on 25 July. The white streaks are areas covered by cloud when #Sentinel3 was passing and could not measure land temperature data. pic.twitter.com/qWvQ6kKIVu
— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) July 26, 2019
The brutal heat is the continuation of a climate-change trend that is rapidly turning into a locomotive with no brakes. Three studies published this week highlighted the drastic impact of human activities on the Earth. That means these new European heat records may not stand for long.
