The reason for the record temperatures in Europe was the displacement of the usual oceanic anticyclone by subtropical anticyclones from deserts, Massimiliano Fazzini, a lecturer in physical geography and climate risks at the University of Camerino said.
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“When anticyclones associated with the Sahara or the Iranian Highlands are established over Europe, they turn out to be very powerful and extend to heights of up to six to eight kilometers. Crossing the mountain ranges, this warm air mass descends and is additionally heated by compression. For this reason, the surface temperature becomes exceptionally high,” Fazzini said.
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According to the climatologist, in the past, oceanic anticyclones more often dominated Western Europe, whereas now subtropical desert anticyclones are increasingly dominating. At the same time, the desert regions of the Middle East are heating up even more than the northern Sahara.
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“That is why the current heat waves are so intense: the air at the surface is initially very warm, and additional warming due to descending air flows increases the temperature even more,” the scientist concluded.
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In the middle of June, abnormally hot weather was observed in Europe. In a number of countries, the air temperature rises to around 40 degrees, and in some places even exceeded it. In the last week of June, temperature records were broken in several European countries.
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The highest, red weather danger level was introduced in France, Britain, the Netherlands and Italy. The third wave of heat is already coming to the Apennines.
