Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
If you’re sweating, you’re not the only one: as Europe sweltered through the second day of the second heatwave of the summer, temperature records were being broken practically every hour.
Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK recorded all-time temperature records on Thursday as the thermometer pushed way past the 40-degree mark in many parts of Europe.
In the Netherlands, a new all-time record of 39,3 degrees was measured in Eindhoven on Wednesday. This new record was quickly broken, when temperatures rose to 40,4 degrees in Gilze Rijen on Thursday afternoon - the first time the thermometer has ever topped 40 degrees in the Netherlands. The night from Thursday to Friday was the hottest ever recorded.
Meteorological institute KNMI has issued a code orange warning for extreme heat for the entire country except for the Wadden area, and the National Heat Plan is in place. The lack of wind has also led the Dutch government to issue a warning for high levels of air pollution in densely-populated cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
No sooner had a new temperature record been set in Germany than it was broken a dozen more times. On Wednesday afternoon the 2015 record of 40,3 was surpassed in Geilenkirchen, near Mönchengladbach, with a reading of 40,5 degrees.
Then, on Thursday afternoon in Lingen, a new record of 41,5 degrees was measured, only to be broken again a few hours later when the temperature climbed further to 42,6 degrees. In total, the 2015 record was broken at 15 measuring stations across the country.
As Paris experienced its hottest day ever, reaching 42,6 degrees, a new heat record was set in a village in the south of the country, Verargues, where the mercury hit 46 degrees, smashing the previous record of 44,1 degrees.
In the UK, the 40-degree point was not surpassed but a record July temperature of 36,9 degrees was recorded at Heathrow Airport in London. This is slightly below the UK’s all-time high of 38,5 degrees. Belgium also experienced its hottest day since records began in 1833, with a temperature of 40,6 degrees recorded in Kleine Brogel.
Although meteorologists expect that the heatwave will now begin to ease off, bringing in a wave of thunderstorms in its wake, weather warnings are likely to remain in place until at least Saturday.