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World's Fastest-Warming Continent Swelters Under Record 'Heat Dome'
Copernicus says Europe is about 2.4 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial times as blocking highs and cleaner air help drive stronger heatwaves.
- Britain registered its hottest-ever May temperatures on Monday, with mercury reaching 34.8°C near the capital, as record highs fell across Britain, Ireland and France on Monday and Tuesday from a so-called 'heat dome' of warm air from northern Africa.
- Europe is warming around 2.4°C above preindustrial levels compared to the planet's 1.4°C increase, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, driven by shifts in atmospheric circulation making high-pressure systems more common in European summers.
- Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago, has warmed by 1.5°C-2°C per decade and recorded its fourth warmest summer last year; the Arctic is 3.2°C warmer than preindustrial times, with melting sea ice accelerating further warming through heat absorption, Ben Clarke of Imperial College London explained.
- Geography professor Mary Bourke at Trinity College Dublin described how blocking high-pressure systems trap warm, dry air masses, while Copernicus Director Buontempo noted that historical regions once experiencing freezing conditions now lack them, exposing darker surfaces that absorb more heat.
- Cleaner air from stricter regulations since the 1980s has inadvertently increased solar radiation reaching Earth's surface as fewer aerosols reflect sunlight, though scientists debate whether rising high-pressure system frequency is climate-driven or natural variation, Buontempo said.
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How Europe’s rapid warming has fuelled a record May heatwave
Europe is bracing for more extreme heat after record May temperatures swept across Britain, Ireland and France this week – with scientists saying a “heat dome” over western Europe is combining with human-driven…
·Paris, France
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Europe, which is battling a record-breaking heatwave this week, is the fastest-warming continent. Europe borders the Arctic, which is warming even faster than the rest of the continent. After May records were broken in Britain, Ireland and France today and yesterday, the continent is set for even more heat in the coming days. A so-called "heat dome" of...
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Total News Sources19
Leaning Left10Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution63% Left
Bias Distribution
- 63% of the sources lean Left
63% Left
L 63%
C 25%
12%
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