Podcast
A heat threshold ‘no meteorologist ever thought would be crossed’
Europe’s record-breaking heat wouldn’t be possible without human-caused climate change.
On The Carbon Copy podcast this week:
Last Tuesday, the thermometer at London’s Heathrow airport registered 40.2 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and more than a dozen wildfires broke out across London. About 30 miles to the north, portions of the runway at Luton Airport melted, causing flights to be suspended. Tens of thousands of residents had to be evacuated due to wildfires in Spain, France and Portugal.
A lot of meteorologists and climate watchers couldn’t quite believe it was happening — including Axios’ Andrew Freedman.
“A high of 104 degrees has always been this limit that no meteorologist ever thought would be crossed in their lifetime in the U.K.,” says Freedman.
Europe isn’t ready for heat like this. New research shows Western Europe is seeing a three- to fourfold increase in heat waves compared to anywhere else in the northern midlatitudes. And none of this would be possible without climate change.
This week, we’re talking about the extreme heat that gripped Europe, including how climate scientists understand it and the best ways to convey this new reality.
Guest: Andrew Freedman, a climate and energy reporter at Axios. Read his coverage of the heat wave and other climate news.
The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.
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