WMO noted that the European heatwave is unusual "because it is so early and so widespread."
Comparisons are already being drawn between the 2003 heatwave, which killed an estimated 70,000 people, and this one. The difference is that the 2015 is much earlier and Europe is much better prepared with heat-health action plans.
"The heatwave is still ongoing and it is premature to say whether we can attribute this to climate change. But climate change scenarios predict that heatwaves will become more intense, more frequent and longer," Clare Nullis, WMO spokeswomen told a press conference.
Many countries have issued heat advisories and alerts for Friday and Saturday, including the maximum red alert for Switzerland and western Poland and amber alerts for much of France.
Nullis told Xinhua that the heatwave in Europe is because of hot air from Africa moving up through Europe, hitting Spain and Portugal first before moving further north.
During last days in several parts of Europe, extreme maximum temperatures were observed: more than 40 degrees Celsius in France, up to 36 degrees Celsius in Italy, 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in Southeast and south Russia, west Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Even in England values of more than 36 degrees Celsius were recorded.
Nullis said the most vulnerable are the elderly and the very young, adding that advice from health agencies includes that avoiding strenuous exercise or activity, drinking lots of water, staying indoors in the afternoon and generally try to stay cool.
Xinhua - china.org.cn
4/7/15
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