U.N. Issues Warning as Heat Wave Covers Much of Europe

TIME

A heat wave covered much of Europe this week, with a record-hot first day of play at Wimbledon and high winds fanning forest fires in Turkey. On Monday, heat warnings were issued for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and the U.K., with new highs expected on Wednesday before rain should bring respite to some areas.

Transcript

00:00We are currently under the influence of a strong high-pressure system.

00:06This is trapping hot air from Northern Africa over the region.

00:13And as we can see, it's having a pretty big impact on the way we feel.

00:17Everybody is at risk.

00:18If you go out without water in the middle of the day to do jogging, have a bike ride,

00:24you will probably have health problems or even die.

00:27The frequency and intensity of extreme heat events is increasing in Europe.

00:33And by 2050, about half the European population may be exposed to high or very high risk of heat stress during summer.

00:43What is exceptional, and I would stress exceptional but not unprecedented, is the time of year.

00:50You know, we are the 1st of July, and we are seeing episodes of extreme heat, which normally we would see later on.

00:58Why is it happening? Various reasons.

01:00One of them is that sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean are exceptionally high for this time of year.

01:08It's the equivalent of a land heat wave.

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