Ireland records its highest temperature in over a century
From CNN’s Kara Fox and Sugam Pokharel
Ireland on Monday recorded 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) at Phoenix Park in Dublin, the country’s highest-ever recorded temperature in over a century and a new record for the month of July, the Irish Meteorological Service said.
“Highest air temperature recorded today was 33.0C at the Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin. This is a new all time national record for the month of July, and the highest air temperature recorded in Ireland the 20th and 21st centuries,” Met Éireann, Ireland’s national meteorological service, said in a tweet.
Monday’s temperature at Phoenix Park is only 0.3 degrees Celsius below the all-time 135-year-old record set at Kilkenny Castle in Ireland in 1887, the Irish Observational Climatology said.
Global heat records are outpacing cool records by 10-to-1 this year
From CNN’s Brandon Miller
Hot-temperature records are far outpacing cool records across the globe so far this year as Europe and the United States brace again for dangerous heat waves.
Globally, 188 all-time heat records have been broken so far in 2022 (with more than 50 of those occurring in the past week), compared with just 18 cold records, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In the US alone, 92 all-time record high temperatures had been set through July 16, compared with only five all-time record low temperatures.
Studies have shown that extreme heat will increase in frequency, intensity and duration because of the climate crisis and that extremes will occur more frequently on the hot side compared to cold.
Gabriel Vecchi, a climate scientist and geosciences professor at Princeton University, told CNN that the hot-and-cold record imbalance is a signal of the climate crisis, and scientists have noted a trend in recent years that hot extremes are outpacing cold ones.
“This is what you would expect from a planetary warming that’s been driven in large part from greenhouse gases; this is now the world we’re living in,” Vecchi told CNN, noting that “it’s fair to think that almost every heatwave that we see right now has some influence from global warming.”
Read more here.
Extreme temperatures are related to more than a dozen causes of death. Here’s why it’s so dangerous.
From CNN’s Jen Christensen
Extreme temperatures can lead to several heat-related conditions that could be deadly for many people, especially the elderly and those with other medical conditions.Two of the most common are heatstroke and heat exhaustion.
With heatstroke, the body can’t cool itself. Its temperature rises quickly, and its natural cooling mechanism — sweat — fails. A person’s temperature can rise to a dangerous 106 degrees or higher within just 10 or 15 minutes. This can lead to disability or even death.
A person who has heatstroke may sweat profusely or not at all. They can become confused or pass out, and they could have a seizure.
Heat exhaustion happens when the body losses too much water or salt through excessive sweating. That can come with symptoms like nausea, dizziness, irritability, thirst, headache and elevated body temperature.
With both conditions, emergency help is needed quickly. While waiting for assistance, bystanders can try to cool the person by moving them to the shade and giving them with water.
Extreme high temperatures can also put significant strain on the heart or make breathing more difficult. These temperatures can be linked to at least 17 causes of death, most of them related to heart and breathing issues but also including suicide, drowning and homicide.
Studies have shown that exposure to extreme heat can also contribute to mental health issues, problems for pregnant women and poor birth outcomes.
Who is most vulnerable: The elderly, children and people with chronic diseases and mental health problems are at the highest risk of heat-related illness, along with people who take certain medicines, according to the CDC. Doctors say it’s important to monitor those who are very young or very old, because they’re not able to regulate their body temperature as well.
It’s not just exposure to extreme temperatures that’s a problem. Higher temperatures increase particle and ozone pollution and contribute to hundreds of thousands of additional deaths of all ages around the world, according to a study published last year.
Read more here.
Half of humanity in the “danger zone” from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires, UN chief warns
From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite in London
Half of humanity is in the “danger zone” from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Monday, as parts of Europe are facing very high temperatures, drought and wildfires.
“Half of humanity is in the danger zone from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction,” Guterres said in a video message to the “Petersburg Dialogue” conference on climate change being held in Berlin.
The meeting is attended by government representatives from 40 countries and serves to discuss major climate protection agreements and focuses on preparations for November’s COP27 World Climate Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, this year.
“We cannot continue this way. We must rebuild trust and come together — to keep 1.5 alive and to build climate-resilient communities,” he said.
“We have a choice. Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands,” he concluded.
Hypothetical weather forecasts for 2050 are coming true in the UK — 28 years early
Analysis from CNN’s Angela Fritz
Two years ago, forecasters in the UK conducted an interesting thought experiment: What will our forecasts look like in 2050?
The climate crisis is pushing weather to the extreme all over the world, and temperatures in the northern latitudes have been particularly sensitive to these changes. So meteorologists at the UK Met Office — the official weather forecast agency for the UK — dove in to the super long-range climate models in the summer of 2020 to see what kind of temperatures they’d be forecasting in about three decades.
“Not actual weather forecast,” the Met Office’s graphics said. “Examples of plausible weather based on climate projections.”
Well, on Monday and Tuesday, the “plausible” becomes reality — 28 years early.
In 30 years, this forecast will seem rather typical. It’s also clearly a sign of how rapidly the climate crisis is altering our weather.
“We hoped we wouldn’t get to this situation,” the Met Office’s climate attribution scientist Nikos Christidis said in a statement. “Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the UK. The chances of seeing 40°C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”
The chance of exceeding 40 degrees is “increasing rapidly,” Christidis said.
Britain is bracing itself for the “hottest day in UK history,” according to a senior weather official. On Friday, the Met Office issued its first ever red warning for “extreme heat” over the soaring temperatures.
The Met Office’s CEO, Penelope Endersby, said Monday may well be the “hottest day in UK history,” but Tuesday is “expected to be even hotter.”
This is about more than a few uncomfortable days. Extreme heat is among the most deadly weather events and recent reports would suggest no more than 5% of UK homes have air conditioning to help keep residents cool.
Read more here.
Prince Charles on heat wave across Europe: “Climate crisis really is a genuine emergency”
From CNN’s Max Foster
Prince Charles stressed on Monday that the climate crisis “really is a genuine emergency” and that tackling it is “utterly essential” as Britain and countries across Europe see record temperatures.
“As I have tried to indicate for quite some time, the climate crisis really is a genuine emergency and tackling it is utterly essential,” he said speaking at an event in Cornwall, England.
“Those commitments around net zero have never been more vitally important as we all swelter under today’s alarming, record temperatures across Britain and Europe,” the Prince of Wales underlined.
Europe braces for potential gas crisis as demand surges during the heat wave
From CNN’s Anna Cooban
Europe is bracing for the potential of a full-blown gas crisis later this week just as a historic heat wave has hiked demand for energy to help cool the continent’s homes and businesses.
On Thursday, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline — a crucial artery linking Russia’s gas to the bloc — is due to reopen after 10 days of routine maintenance work. But concern is building that Russia will keep the taps turned off in retaliation for sanctions the European Union has imposed since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, said earlier this month that the country must “prepare for the worst.”
Read more here.
EU mobilizes an additional firefighting plane in response to wildfires
From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite in London
The European Commission has mobilized one more firefighting plane as new wildfires rage across parts of the continent, EU Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said Monday.
Speaking during the regular news briefing in Brussels, Ujvari said that in addition to the firefighting airplanes mobilized in Portugal, France and Albania last week, the EU Commission deployed another plane from Croatia to Slovenia over the weekend.
Slovenia had activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism asking for support to battle a forest fire in Nova Gorica, close to the Italian border.
The EU Commission “also provided rapid satellite images to France in the context of an ongoing fire in the southwest of the country using the Copernicus satellite system,” he said.
This comes on top of the two firefighting aircraft that were deployed last week from the rescue fleet.
“We continue of course to monitor the situation during this unprecedented heatwave and will continue to mobilize support as needed,” he added.
Here’s how to stay cool without air conditioning
From CNN’s Kristen Rogers
Whether you’re without power, enduring extreme heat or trying to save money, there are ways to feel comfortable without artificial cooling.
Heat can foster fun summer activities, but the body shouldn’t be too hot for too long, as too much heat can harm your brain and other organs, according to the US National Institutes of Health.
Sweating is the body’s natural cooling system, but when that’s not enough, there’s increased risk for developing the heat-related illness hyperthermia — signs of which include heat cramps, heat edema and heat stroke.
Staying cool can be done by using some basic supplies and knowing how to manipulate your home to control its temperatures. Here are 14 methods for doing so.
Stay hydrated
When you’re hot and flushed, hydrating yourself is the first and foremost step to cooling down, said Wendell Porter, a senior lecturer emeritus in agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Florida.
The temperature of the water doesn’t matter since your body will heat it, he added. If your body is suffering from the heat and needs to cool itself, it can’t do that without enough moisture, since the body cools itself by sweating.
Take a cold shower or bath
Taking a cold shower or bath helps cool your body by lowering your core temperature, Porter said.
For an extra cool blast, try peppermint soap. The menthol in peppermint oil activates brain receptors that tell your body something you’re eating or feeling is cold.
Use cold washrags on your neck or wrists
Place a cold washrag or ice bags (packs) on your wrists or drape it around your neck to cool your body. These pulse points are areas where blood vessels are close to the skin, so you’ll cool down more quickly.
Use box fans
Place box fans facing out of the windows of rooms you’re spending time in to blow out hot air and replace it with cold air inside.
Close your curtains or blinds
If you have windows that face the sun’s direction in the morning through afternoon, close the curtains or blinds over them to “keep the sun from coming directly into the house and heating up (the) inside,” Porter said.
You could also install blackout curtains to insulate the room and reduce temperature increases that would happen during the day.
Sleep in breathable linens
Cotton is one of the most breathable materials, so cotton sheets or blankets could help keep you cool through the night. The lower the thread count of the cotton, the more breathable it is, Porter said.
Sleep in the basement
If you can’t sleep through the night because you’re too hot, try sleeping somewhere besides your bedroom, if that’s an option. Heat rises, so if you have a lower or basement level in your home, set up a temporary sleeping area there to experience cooler temperatures at night.
Don’t refrigerate or freeze blankets or clothing
Common advice for staying cool without air conditioning includes refrigerating or freezing wet socks, blankets or clothing then ringing them out to wear while you sleep. But this isn’t a good idea, Porter said.
Because of “the amount of energy they can absorb from your body that night, they will be warm in just a matter of minutes,” he said. “And then you’d have damp stuff that would mold your mattress. So you definitely don’t want to do that.”
Close the doors of unused rooms
If no one’s using a room that doesn’t have vents or registers, close the door to that area to keep the cool air confined to only occupied areas of the house.
Use the exhaust fan in your kitchen and/or bathroom
Flip the switch for the exhaust fan in your kitchen to pull hot air that rises after you cook or in your bathroom to draw out steam after you shower.
Install energy-efficient light bulbs
Incandescent light bulbs generate a higher temperature than LED light bulbs do. To make the switch, watch for sales on energy-efficient bulbs, then slowly replace the bulbs in your house, Porter said.
Switching light bulbs can save money but won’t reduce a lot of heat in the home, Hall said. However, if you focus on switching the bulbs in areas you’re sitting near, that would make a more noticeable difference, Porter said.
Cook in the morning, with a slow cooker or outside
Oven heat can spread throughout your house. Keep the heat centralized in one area, such as a slow cooker. Or, cook outdoors on a grill to keep the heat outside.
Enjoy frozen treats
Eating an ice pop or ice cream to cool down may help for a moment. But don’t go overboard on the sugar if you’re overheated or at risk of being overheated, Porter said.
“Sugar would run your metabolism up and you’d start feeling internally hot,” he said. “So the cool treat might be good, but the extra sugar might not.”
Research what your state offers
If you’ve tried everything and still can’t beat the heat at home, you could look online for any local programs that are offering ductless air conditioners.
Depending on your state, some cooling centers — air-conditioned public facilities where people might go for relief during extremely hot weather — may be open and taking precautions to ensure they’re as safe as possible. You could start by checking with your local utility offices, as they would know who is offering certain programs, Porter recommended.
CNN’s Madeline Holcombe and Holly Yan contributed reporting to this post.
