Heat dome scorches UK, Ireland, France and Spain

LONDON: Temperatures hit record highs for May in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday.

A “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer.

In the United Kingdom, the Met Office weather agency said it was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8°C at Kew Gardens, southwest London — a full two degrees above the previous high.

A record May temperature of 28.8°C was recorded at two weather stations in Ireland: Killarney in the southwest and Clonmel in the south, Met Eireann data showed.

A grass fire broke out near Arthur’s Seat hill near Edinburgh, as the Scottish city saw temperatures climb to 25°C, according to firefighters and the BBC.

Across the English Channel, weather agency Meteo-France said “dozens” of temperature records were broken in several French cities, as it placed eight western regions under a heatwave alert.

The exceptionally high temperatures were expected to last until the weekend.

On Monday, the western town of Bergerac recorded a high of 34.7°C, with the cities of Nantes and Angers not far behind.

Yesterday, heat of between 32°C and 35°C was expected across much of the western region of Brittany, “with peaks of 36°C or even 37°C expected in the south of the country”, Meteo-France said.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu will meet key ministers tomorrow to go over government preparations for the heatwave.

The capital, Paris, on Saturday notched up its first temperature above 30°C of the year, hitting 31.9°C.

On Sunday, a man died during a 10km race in Paris, civil defence services said, while 10 others had to be taken to hospital in critical condition in the capital’s suburb of Maisons-Alfort, authorities said.

In Spain, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warned that the “extraordinarily high temperatures for this time of year” will continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands.

“Widespread tropical nights” are also forecast in southwestern Spain from today, with temperatures peaking until Friday at between 36°C and 38°C, it wrote on X.

Italy’s Lazio region on Monday approved rules limiting work in conditions “with prolonged exposure in the sun” between 12.30pm and 4pm.

The measures apply until Sept 15.

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المصدر: New Straits Times