Medical News
The record temperature was measured in Cambridge, UKJoe Giddens/PA Wire/PA Images
By Michael Le PageAs the world warms, yet another all-time national heat record has been set. The 38.7°C recorded in Cambridge Botanic Garden on 25 July during the recent European heatwave has now been confirmed to be the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.
The UK’s Met Office checked the instrument and site before confirming the record, which is why it has taken a few days to confirm.
New all-time national records were also set on 25 July in Germany (42.6°C), Belgium (41.8°C), Luxembourg (40.8°C) and the Netherlands (40.7°C). Many more places across Europe also recorded the highest temperatures ever for those locations.
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The heatwave was caused by a weather pattern that drew hot air from Africa northwards across a broad swathe of Europe. Such patterns do occur from time to time, but because parts of North Africa are now 2°C hotter on average than in pre-industrial times, the plume of hot air was much hotter than it would have been without global warming.
“When the weather patterns, like we saw last week, bring air from this region to our shores it can bring a stronger signal of climate change with it too,” Peter Stott of the Met Office said in a statement.
More extreme heatwaves
The heatwave disrupted train travel as overhead wires on railways sagged and tracks buckled in the heat. Severe thunderstorms triggered by the heat and humidity also caused delays to flights.
The July heatwave in Europe came just a few weeks after a June heatwave set records. Many other parts of the world have also had record heat.
So far this year 11 countries have recorded their hottest ever temperatures, according to weather records compiler Maximiliano Herrera. None have recorded coldest ever temperatures.
None of the new heat records are likely to last long. The world has so far warmed around 1°C and is currently on track to warm 3 or 4°C by 2100. As the warming continues, heatwaves will continue to become ever more extreme.
Article amended on
30 July 2019
The records for mainland Europe were updated and the number of countries recording hottest temperatures in 2019 clarified.
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