As northern Europe grapples with an early onset of summer heat, authorities in Britain and France have issued cautionary alerts about the warm weather conditions expected to prevail over the weekend. The Met Office, England’s national meteorological service, forecasts that temperatures in parts of eastern England may climb to an unusual height of 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday. This temperature is significantly inflated by about 12 degrees Celsius (22 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the seasonal norm.
Meanwhile, France is anticipating an even more intense surge of heat, with expected temperatures reaching up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in the country’s western and southern regions. Both the U.K. Health Security Agency and the Met Office are maintaining an amber heat health alert covering all of England until Monday morning, highlighting increased health risks especially for individuals over 65 and those with heart or lung ailments.
“Heat can have severe health implications across the population, particularly affecting the elderly or people with existing health issues,” noted Dr. Agostinho Sousa, UKHSA’s head of extreme event health protection. He urged people to keep an eye on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors, while also recommending sensible precautions while enjoying the sunny weather.
In similar terms, Meteo France, the national weather service, has issued a warning for the country’s western and central areas. The agency cautions that the elevated temperatures pose a risk even for healthy individuals. Earlier this week, the sweltering conditions were apparent at the Paris Air Show, where attendees found respite from the heat beneath the wing of a Boeing 777 as temperatures were in the mid-80s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius).
Forecasts suggest that Saturday will be the peak of the heat wave, with a slight cool down on Sunday, and a return to more average temperature ranges expected as the following week begins. At the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, shade was sought under the wings of aircraft as the heat took its toll.
In the Netherlands, preparations for Amsterdam’s 750th birthday celebrations include additional water stations and limited ticket sales in response to Saturday’s anticipated high temperatures, which officials say may be intensified by the heat-absorbing asphalt surface of the event’s location. Across the country, events ranging from marathons to concerts have been canceled, including various outdoor performances by the Philzuid symphony orchestra in Eindhoven, which were abandoned to prevent potential damage to their instruments caused by the heat.
These warnings represent a growing trend across Europe, where increasing temperatures are a byproduct of global climate change. Research from Met Office scientists published this week underscores this pattern, demonstrating that climate change has substantially heightened the probability of extremely high temperatures in the U.K. The likelihood of surpassing the 40-degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) mark is now over 20 times more common than it was in the 1960s.