March 29, 2024

More heat waves in Western Europe due to changing jet streams |  free press

More heat waves in Western Europe due to changing jet streams | free press

Why are more and more heat waves being recorded, especially in Western Europe? The researchers evaluated long-term observational data.

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According to Potsdam researchers, important factors for the increase in heat waves, especially in Western Europe, are changes in the so-called jet streams – large wind ranges with a height of five to ten kilometers.

This was the result of a new study by an international team of researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which was published in the journal Nature Communications. To do this, the scientists evaluated observational data from the past 40 years.

The result: In Europe, especially Western Europe, heat waves increased three to four times faster than in the rest of northern mid-latitudes such as the United States or Canada. Therefore these periods of extreme heat are associated with twin jet streams and their increased duration. Such cases are considered as conditions in which the jet stream is divided into two branches. The researchers note that the longer duration acts as well as the increase in temperature caused by the man-made warming and leads to more intense heat waves.

Heat events in Europe are more frequent and more severe

She said that almost the entire upward trend in heat waves in Western Europe and about 30 percent in Europe as a whole can be explained by the conditions of the twin jets. Referring to Western Europe, Evi Rossi of PIK, lead author of the study, said: “In this region, which coincides with the exit of the storm path from the North Atlantic to Europe, weather systems usually come from the Atlantic and therefore have a cooling effect. If it comes to aircraft. In contrast, weather systems will drift north and continuous heat waves may develop over Western Europe.This is in contrast to other European regions.

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Although summer heat waves are not a new phenomenon, what is new is that extreme heat events have occurred frequently and intensely in Europe in recent years. “We expect it to get worse,” Rossi said.

According to the researchers, a possible explanation for the fact that double jets are very constant is the warming of high latitudes, especially over such land areas as Siberia, northern Canada and Alaska. Rossi emphasized: “Even if the topic requires further research, one thing is clear: twin jet streams and their increased residence time are key to understanding the risks of current and future heat waves in Western Europe.” (dpa)