EliseJul 25, 2022
For all you wondering why it’s getting so 🔥 hot 🔥 in Europe, I talked to a bunch of scientists to find out and this is what they said https://www.voanews.com/a/why-are-heat-waves-becoming-so-common-in-europe/6673184.html
Why Are Heat Waves Becoming So Common in Europe?

Europe is heating up three to four times faster than the rest of the mid-latitudes

Voice of America (VOA News)
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022

Climate change is causing Europe to heat up much faster than the rest of the world on average

It’s quite literally a heatwave hotspot

Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022
(caveat: heatwaves in the tropics are usually more deadly and hit higher temps — the extreme thing in Europe is the change relative to pre-climate change norms, which is unusually strong)
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022
There are a lot of possible explanations for why Europe is heating up so fast, and it’s probably not just one factor
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022
For one, temps are just higher. That makes extreme heat more likely.
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022

Second, the jet stream is messed up. Climate change is doing that.

This can also cause heatwaves in Europe, where the climate is strongly moderated by the jet steam

Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022
Third, Europe is super dry. Heating up and evaporating water uses up a lot of energy that would otherwise heat up the air. Dry soils mean hotter days.
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022
Fourth, a major Atlantic current is (probably) slowing down, which could be messing with the jet stream. But that probably wasn’t a factor in the ongoing heatwaves
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022

Climate models predict that Europe will heat up more than the world average, but they haven’t caught up with reality when it comes to the frequency and severity of heatwaves there.

More research will be needed to figure out why exactly Europe is getting so hot

Show threadElise
What is clear is that climate change is here in Europe — and things will only get hotter. Preparations shouldn’t wait for climate models to catch up with reality.
Jul 25, 2022 at 8:10pmMastodon Twitter Crossposter
Show threadEliseJul 25, 2022

One researcher I talked to said that if you’d told him 20 years ago that it’d be 40 C in the UK, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Now it’s here.