Almost 400 all-time high temperatures were set in the northern hemisphere over the summer, according to an analysis of temperature records.
The records were broken in 29 countries for the period from 1 May to 30 August this year.
A third of the all-time high temperatures were in Germany, followed by France and the Netherlands.
This summer was notable for the very large number of all-time temperature records set in Europe, according to Dr Robert Rohde, Lead Scientist at Berkeley Earth.
“Some places in Europe have histories of weather observations going back more than 150 years, and yet still saw new all-time record highs,” he told the BBC.
The extent of the hot spells on the continent is clearly visible when looking at a breakdown of when the most temperature records were broken. In late July, all-time temperature records were set in a number of European countries including the UK.
The increasing number of record high temperatures are a part of the long-term trend of global warming, said Dr Rohde.
“As the Earth warms, it has become easier for weather stations to set new all-time records. In the past, we would usually only see about 2% of weather stations recording a new record high in any given year,” he explained.
“But, recently, we sometimes see years, like 2019, with 5% or more of the weather stations recording a new all-time record high.”
Ban murder tools Kill the 2nd
Article URL : https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49753680