A heat wave is raging through Europe this summer, and it is having a huge toll on the people living there. Hundreds of people throughout Europe have died from the immense heat, but the continent has not even seen what has yet to come.
Heat waves in Europe are increasing in frequency and intensity more than any other place on the Earth, affecting daily activity, events, and traditions.
One cause of the heat wave is a weather phenomenon known as a cut-off low. A cut-off low is a low-pressure area in the atmosphere, according to The New York Times. The low pressure causes air to flow into the cut-off low, and, in the case of Europe, causes hot air from North Africa to flow into Western Europe.
Efi Rousi, a senior scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany, said that the heat wave may be linked to a “double jet,” where a jet stream, a stream of fast flowing air, splits in two. This may be the cause of the cut-off low and weak winds, which let the heat persist.
Another cause for the heat wave may be a change in one of the world’s main ocean currents, said the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, according to The New York Times. Dr. Rousi published a paper last year, which showed, using computer simulations, that the weakening of the current could cause drier summers in Europe.
Heat waves in Europe are increasing in frequency and intensity more than any other place on the Earth, affecting daily activity, events, and traditions.
One cause of the heat wave is a weather phenomenon known as a cut-off low. A cut-off low is a low-pressure area in the atmosphere, according to The New York Times. The low pressure causes air to flow into the cut-off low, and, in the case of Europe, causes hot air from North Africa to flow into Western Europe.
Efi Rousi, a senior scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany, said that the heat wave may be linked to a “double jet,” where a jet stream, a stream of fast flowing air, splits in two. This may be the cause of the cut-off low and weak winds, which let the heat persist.
Another cause for the heat wave may be a change in one of the world’s main ocean currents, said the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, according to The New York Times. Dr. Rousi published a paper last year, which showed, using computer simulations, that the weakening of the current could cause drier summers in Europe.
