The UK is preparing for the hottest day in its history today with maximum temperatures of up to 41ºC in the south of the islands. The Met Office, the UK’s meteorological service, has issued a red alert. first such warning in the country due to the extraordinary heat. Note that the current record is 38.7°C, reached in Cambridge in July 2019. Now London is poised to become one of the hottest places in the world.

But almost all of Europe suffers from extreme weather conditions. The south and center of the continent experienced a brutal heatwave with temperatures reaching 44ºC in Spain and 41ºC in France. A relentless wave that challenges our lives every time, dozens of heat records were broken in some cities where key sectors have been affected and emergency services have faced dozens of wildfires and deaths from the heat.

While this heatwave probably won’t set new records for hottest temperatures in countries overall (with the exception of the UK), it’s a good time to remember what the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe were. This map designed by Viborc collects all historical heat records on the continent.

Map of the highest recorded temperatures in Europe | Viborc.

You can view the map in its maximum resolution here.

According to WMO, the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.0°C in Greece (Athens) on 10 July 1977. However, a new European record was set on 11 August 2021 during a heat wave in Sicily, Italy. hit the country and 48.8°C reached. The map also shows the 49°C temperature recorded in Turkey, despite being in the Asian part of the country.

South takes the cake. Spain reached a new temperature record of 47.4°C on 14 August 2021. and Portugal (47.4 °C) and France (46°C) All Benelux countries also rose above all-time highs of 40 degrees Celsius, from 41.8°C in Belgium to 40.7°C in the Netherlands. The maximum temperature recorded in Germany is 41.2°C, only 0.3°C lower than Switzerland (41.5°C).

If we look at our country specifically, these are the highest temperatures recorded in every province of Spain.

Even the Balkan countries had unbearable seasons. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the leader in the region with its record of 46.2°C in July 1901. North Macedonia is second with 45.7°C, followed by Bulgaria with 45.2°C. Located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Croatia has a national record of 42.8°C, recorded in 1981. Strange as it may sound, Russia has a maximum temperature of 45.4°C.

Iceland Europe’s lowest recordWith a historical maximum reaching 30.5 °C, that’s 17.5 °C colder than the record for Greece. Sweden has reached 38°C twice. Due to the effects of the Atlantic Ocean and temperate climate, Ireland’s record level is 33.3°C, making it the second country in Europe (after Iceland) with the highest recorded temperature not exceeding 35°C.

Dozens of studies we’ve discussed at Xataka over the years have shown that human-caused climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events. Not only that: also duration and intensity. According to a recent study, European heat waves, for example, increased three to four times faster than in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Suffice it to say that the global average temperature has increased by almost 1.2°C since the last century.

And it should be noted that many of these studies are based on certain extreme heat waves. would not be possible without climate change It comes from man. “The chance of seeing a 40°C day in the UK may be 10 times higher in the current climate than in a natural climate that is unaffected by human influence,” Met Office climate scientist Nikos Christidis said in an email. a recent statement. Yes, we are dealing with something very serious, you just have to go outside or open the windows to understand it.

Map: Viborc