Heatwaves: They Don't Call it Global for Nothing

If misery really does love company, residents along the U.S. eastern seaboard should be delighted to know that millions of Europeans and Asians are also feeling the effects of one heatwave or another.

In China, for instance, a heatwave has been underway since late June. The early days of July have brought staggering temperatures across 16 provinces. The China Meteorological Administration reported temperatures in Beijing reached a record 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit and officials throughout the country were alerted to open shelters for residents suffering from the effects of excessive heat. 

This photo from China Daily shows how the giant panda Hope feels about a big block of ice at the Wuhan Zoo, where temperatures climbed above 35 degrees centigrade (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the muggy provincial capital south of Beijing.

China Daily reported electrical grid operators face "tremendous pressure to meet soaring power demands" from air conditioning. Facing a million-kilowatt power shortage, some 6,000 companies in Anhui province suspended or cut back operations during peak demand periods.

Across Europe, where thousands died in a disastrous heatwave in 2003, sizzling temperatures were spread across much of the continent, and weather forecast models suggested the heatwave in a broad swatch from Spain to Russia was going to get worse in the coming week.

At AccuWeather.com, the international specialist Jim Andrews warned that the European heatwave was going from bad to worse.

For at least the weekend through early next week, a corridor from Germany and Poland east and northeast to western and northwestern Russia would have widespread temperatures at least 4 C (7.2 F) to 8 C (14.4 F) above normal. High temperature could easily reach 10 C (18 F) and more above normal.

If a study published recently in journal Nature Geoscience proves to be accurate, summer heatwaves "will become more frequent and severe during this century" as our climate continues to warm.

Hardest hit will be people living in Southern Europe, especially the Iberian Peninsula and the region  around the Mediterranean as the impact of global warming takes hold in the years ahead. 

According to the study, the frequency of "heatwave days" will jump from an average of two days per summer during 1961-1990 to around 13 days for 2021-2050 and 40 days for 2071-2100.

The map at right, result of a six-model simulation, shows areas most likely to experience temperatures exceeding a critical threshold of 40.6 degrees C (105 degrees F) between 2071-2100. The study was undertaken by Erich Fischer and Christoph Schar at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich, Switzerland.