Neusiedler See in Rust in the Burgenland province of Austria
Extreme and dangerously high temperatures are causing hundreds of millions of people across the Northern Hemisphere to swelter as record-breaking temperatures baked much of the United States and China and caused a number of wildfires in Europe.
The unprecedented weather pattern is comprised of separate high-pressure weather systems that are linked by atmospheric waves. High-temperature records have been shattered in places from the United Kingdom to Texas and Oklahoma, as well as the normally cooler Northeast United States.
Forecasters are predicting new record temperatures in New York City and other parts of the region on Sunday, where thermometers in the Big Apple should surpass the daily record of 97° F (36.1° C), set in 2010. The all-time record for Central Park, 106° F (41.1° C), which was set in 1936, should remain secure for the time being, according to meteorologists.
New Jersey set a record of its own. Although the Garden State is over 2,000 miles (3,219 km) from Death Valley, readings at Newark Liberty International Airport have hit the 100° F (37.8° C) mark four times during the current heat wave, and the absence of high humidity made the area feel more like the desert than the country’s leading producer of cranberries, blueberries, and tomatoes.
Wildfires in Europe have already forced tens of thousands of people in France, Greece, and Italy to flee their homes as smoke blanketed the region. Germany recorded its hottest day of the year, with the thermometer hitting 104.5° F (40.3° C) at a weather station in Bad Mergentheim-Neukirchen, which is approximately 86 miles (143 km) southeast of Frankfurt and 72 miles (115 km) due west of Nürnberg.
The temperature in Vienna is expected to hit 96° F (36° C) on Monday, while in Munich, it will hit 94° F (34° C). Madrid hit a high of 104° F (40° C) on Sunday, while the Faro District in Portugal saw 96° F (36° C) on Sunday and will likely hit 99° F (37° C) on Monday.
Heat-related deaths have topped 1,100 in Spain and Portugal from a combination of wildfires and the heat.
This past Saturday was the day of the “big heat” in the Chinese Almanac based on the lunar calendar and it did not disappoint. Multiple regions are expected to experience temperatures as high as 104° F (40° C), Fu Jiaolan, chief forecaster at China’s National Meteorological Center, told state media.
The Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management warned that the power grid could face “severe tests” amidst a higher use of air conditioning.
The heat has also caused some inland regions to warn of dam failures due to melting glaciers.
Temperatures in the oasis city of Turpan, where local news media reported a temperature of 122.5° F (50.3° C) in 2015 at a weather station near Aydin, a dry lake, could reach that figure once again in the coming week, forecasters said.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
All Rights Reserved Travel