Heat dome

The sweltering June temperatures in Europe have been attributed to a weather phenomenon known as a heat dome, which is created when an area of high pressure stays over the same area for days or even weeks, trapping very warm air underneath.

Pressure systems usually move from west to east, but they can occasionally get blocked and intensify the heat.

Jason Nicholls, a senior meteorologist and lead international forecaster at AccuWeather, a commercial weather forecasting service, told The Independent news website that a strong area of high pressure from Morocco had built over Western Europe at the end of June. The system extended through Spain and Portugal into France, and has spread across Germany and Italy.

Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent and has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the 2024 European State of the Climate report released in April.

A total of 23 of the 30 most severe heat waves in Europe since 1950 have occurred since 2000, with five between 2021 and 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization Europe Regional Climate Centres.

Europe's proximity to the Arctic could be one contributing factor, DW News reported, citing scientists from the EU's climate monitoring program, Copernicus. As more ice melts there, fewer solar rays are sent back into space and more heat is absorbed by the surface, causing the surrounding region to further heat up. The oceans are also warming, which contributes to heat waves and more extreme droughts, particularly in Southern Europe.

Heat waves can lead to wildfires, droughts, sudden flooding, and air pollution, all of which have impacts on health, livelihoods, and property.

In the WHO European region, heat-related mortality has increased by around 30 percent in the past 20 years, and heat-related deaths are estimated to have increased in 94 percent of the nearly 1,000 areas monitored, said the 2023 European State of the Climate report.