Mq, we need your new "little ice age" asap...
Heat Wave Puts Italy, France on Highest 'Red' Weather Alert
nytimes.com
June 27, 2019
PRAGUE — France's national weather service issued its highest-level danger alert Thursday as it warned that parts of the country could expect temperatures to reach an "exceptional peak" Friday amid a record-setting heat wave in Europe.
Meteo France raised the hazardous weather warning to "red," the highest level, for the Marseille and Montpellier areas in southeastern France, forecasting hazardous temperatures of 42-45 degrees Celsius (107-113 F) on Friday.
It was the first red alert Meteo France activated since a four-level weather "vigilance" system was introduced following an estimated 15,000 heat-related deaths in France during a 2003 summer heat wave.
"A heat wave of this amplitude so early in the year, in June, is exceptional," Meteo France meteorologist France Christelle Robert said. "We should expect more intense and frequent heat waves with climate change, because it will accentuate the extremes."
Europe’s record heat wave is changing stubborn minds about the value of air conditioning
washingtonpost.com
June 28 at 12:18 PM
BERLIN — A sizzling heat wave this week is fueling a shift in attitude in Europe to the once foreign concept of air conditioning, as successive brutally hot summers have forced Europeans to reckon with an ceaseless spike in global temperatures from climate change.
With France tallying a record-high temperature of 114.6 degrees (45.9 Celsius) on Friday, Europeans are reconsidering their traditional opposition to air conditioning that has made them among the lowest users of the cooling machines in the world.
In Germany, you can — quite literally — feel the change in the air.
Residents are sharing maps on social media of air-conditioned buildings and cafes in their area, fans and portable cooling systems are sold out, employers are worried the lack of cooling is killing productivity and at least one Berlin air conditioning installer suspended its phone service because of a flood of calls, according to a recorded voice message. |
