Extreme heat breaks new records - deaths increase

Ebba Torstensson

Updated 21.17 | Published 21.14

 

Congestion on German Rügen. Photo: Stefan Sauer /AP/TT

Heat records break records.

Daytime and nighttime.

In Sweden as in the rest of Europe and this is expected to continue.

Saturday was the warmest day so far this year and in Skåne the highest temperature ever recorded was measured. 36.8 degrees in Osby beats the previous Ängelholm record of 36 degrees from 1947.

– Skåne is the region that stands out the most. It looked like it could have crept up a little higher in Småland, but the catch was that clouds would slide in and winds would come so when you don't set a record, says Lasse Rydqvist, meteorologist

Malmö also experienced its warmest day since measurements started in 1917, with 35.1 degrees. The previous record was 34 degrees from 1947. Which is from the same time as when the Swedish record in Målilla was measured at 38 degrees.

 

In Skåne, several heat records were broken this weekend. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT

Continuing east

In Europe, records have replaced each other this week with record temperatures in France and the UK for several days in a row.

- In the UK, these were the highest temperatures in June. You should remember that it is not in central London, but in the south along the coast, which says something about how warm the water is, says Lasse Rydkvist.

           

          Hot on a train in London. Photo: Kin Cheung /AP/TT

The worst heat has now moved further east and the Czech Republic has already broken two records. According to the country's meteorological institute CHMI, the thermometer showed 40.8 degrees on Saturday and on Sunday the temperature rose to 41.1 degrees on Sunday in Doksany, north of the country's capital Prague.

The record in Poland has also been challenged when the temperature rose to 40.2 degrees.

- If you look at Poland, which has had temperatures above 40 degrees three times since 1779. Now Sunday to Tuesday the forecast is that these temperatures can be reached three days in a row. That also says something about the heat.

           

          The heat is affecting tram traffic in Leipzig. Photo: Heiko Rebsch /AP/TT

In Germany, the temperature did not fall below 29.4 degrees, the night in Kubschütz.

– This is the highest temperature ever recorded this far north in the world.

1,300 more deaths than normal

The excess mortality rate is 1,300 cases during the past week, according to the World Health Organization, WHO.

“Hundreds have died, schools are closed, power grids are collapsing. More than 1,300 deaths than normal have been recorded since June 21 linked to the high temperatures in Europe,” writes WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.