People in parts of Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom are facing extreme weather they’ve never felt before. Temperatures exceeded 100°F, and a below than average rainfall have fueled wildfires across several countries on the continent. For those of us who live in southern areas of the U.S., these are normal summertime temperatures. Europeans usually travel to other countries when they want hot weather. However, homes and buildings are simply unequipped to deal with these extreme temperatures.
In the U.K. where Tuesday’s temperature of 104°F set a nationwide record, best estimates place homes with air-conditioning units installed at under 5 percent. Rail services were cancelled after the tracks overheated and one of London’s major airports had to temporarily shut it’s runway due to heat damage. In France, meteorologists have warned of a “heat apocalypse” in western France as more than 25,000 people have been forced to abandon homes, holiday rentals and campsites for emergency shelters in the Gironde département. France reached a record high of 105.4°F. Spain and Portugal have reported almost 1,200 heat-related deaths in the last two weeks. Firefighters in Spain are fighting 30 active fires, mostly in Castilla y Leon, Galicia and Andalusia.
Scientists have been warning of the influence of greenhouse gas emissions and the planet’s ever-warming baseline temperature as a reason for major weather phenomena and that temperatures exceeding 100°F in Europe will become more common and over a longer period of time.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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