Global warming has increased the likelihood of severe heat waves
Yesterday, World Weather Attribution released a study to which researchers from SMHI contributed. The study shows that climate change is leading to more severe heat waves, such as the one that occurred at the end of July across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The heat wave lasted several weeks, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius in many places. According to the study, the effects of this summer's heat include forest fires, widespread algal blooms, impacts on reindeer herding, impacts on health care, and a large number of drowning accidents in all three countries.
Sweden, Norway, and Finland were affected by several weeks of unusually warm weather from mid-July, with temperatures above 30 °C in many places. Finland experienced 22 consecutive days with temperatures above 30 °C at one place in the country, which is the longest series ever recorded there.
- In Sweden, the northern parts in particular experienced a very long heatwave with high temperatures. Many stations reported a large number of very hot days. The lack of precipitation, combined with the high temperatures, resulted in dry conditions, which contributed to a large number of forest fires, says Erik Kjellström, professor of climatology at SMHI and co-author of the study.
The study brought together 24 researchers from Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the United States, and the United Kingdom, who collaborated to assess the extent to which climate change affected the likelihood and intensity of the extreme heat in the region.
Widespread algal blooms were an effect of the July heatwave.
