A record-breaking heat wave is heading toward Europe — TwojaPogoda
Every year, summer heatwaves in Europe are becoming increasingly extreme, which is why Poland is on the verge of breaking the historic temperature record of 40 degrees Celsius in the shade.
This is reported by the Polish publication TwojaPogoda.
Current meteorological models indicate that the current summer season could break the country’s all-time records.
The cause of these anomalies is the regular influx of hot air masses from North Africa and Southwest Asia.
While in the 20th century, temperatures above 30 degrees in the north of the continent lasted only a few days per summer, such days have now become the norm.
A summer with fewer than 10 days of temperatures above 30 degrees is considered the long-term climatic norm for the country. However, in recent years, there have been about 30 such days, indicating a rapid change in the regional climate.
The years 2018, 2019, and 2024 proved to be particularly hot for Poland, breaking maximum temperature records in many regions of the country.
At present, Polish society and meteorologists have only one symbolic milestone left to overcome—officially recording a temperature of over 40 degrees in the shade.
Meteorologists believe this will certainly happen in the near future, given current global trends in environmental change.
Historical records show that the official record high temperature in Poland was recorded in July 1921—40.2 degrees.
However, this figure is now considered an overestimate, as thermometers at weather stations were placed too close to the ground back then.
The 105-year-old record is likely explained by the fact that the heavily heated ground warmed the air a meter above it, which is what the thermometer recorded.
For this reason, the more reliable record is considered to be 39.5 degrees, recorded on July 30, 1994.
And since even in our current heatwave, a temperature of 40 degrees has not yet been recorded in Poland, it is likely that the 1994 reading is the true record for this country.
In recent years, thermometer readings have repeatedly approached the critical mark, but have never actually crossed it.
Temperature records have already been broken in Poland’s neighboring countries, which are also suffering from waves of abnormal heat. In Germany, 40.3 degrees was recorded in 2015, and 41.2 degrees in 2019.
In the Czech Republic, the all-time record is 40.4 degrees, in Slovakia—40.3, and in Belarus, the highest temperature was recorded in Gomel—38.9 degrees.
Today in Ukraine, variable cloudiness with brief showers is forecast, and thunderstorms are possible in some regions of the country.
Temperatures in Ukraine will rise to +24°C over the weekend
