June 2017: The Earliest European Summer Mega‐heatwave of Reanalysis Period
This paper examines the characteristics of the heatwave that affected western and central Europe in June 2017. Using a novel algorithm, we show that its extension, intensity, and persistence were comparable to those of other European mega‐heatwaves, but it occurred earlier in the summer. The most af...
| Autores: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2018 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/186512 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/186512 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Heatwave Blocking Europe Subtropical ridge Flow analogues Climate change http://metadata.un.org/sdg/13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts |
| Sumario: | This paper examines the characteristics of the heatwave that affected western and central Europe in June 2017. Using a novel algorithm, we show that its extension, intensity, and persistence were comparable to those of other European mega‐heatwaves, but it occurred earlier in the summer. The most affected area was Iberia, which experienced devastating forest fires with human casualties and the warmest temperatures of the reanalysis period from daily to seasonal scales. The peak of the mega‐heatwave displayed an unprecedented warm air intrusion due to a record‐breaking subtropical ridge with signatures closer to those of July and August. The atmospheric circulation was the main triggering factor of the event. However, thermodynamical changes of the last decades made a substantial contribution to the event, by increasing the likelihood of surpassing high‐temperature thresholds. This episode could be a good example of a coming future, with high‐summer mega‐heatwaves occurring earlier. |
|---|