西欧で熱波、仏独などで６月としては記録的な暑さに

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスやスペイン、ドイツなど西欧に週末にかけ、猛烈な熱波が到来し、各地で山火事が発生した。（写真は山火事）
　専門家は、地球温暖化の影響で今年は熱波が例年よりも早く到来すると予測していた。
　スペイン北部では１９日までに複数の山火事が発生。緊急当局によると、被害が大きい北西部クレブラ山脈では２万５０００ヘクタール以上に延焼した。
　先週は各地で連日４０度を超える暑さとなったが、１９日までにほとんどの場所で暑さは和らいだ。
　ドイツでは、東部ブランデンブルク、テューリンゲン、ザクセン３州の気温が３８度に達した。ブランデンブルク州のコトブスでは３８．７度と、ドイツの６月の最高気温を更新した。一部地域では山火事も起きている。
　一方、北部の一部では１２度の寒さとなった。
　オーストリアでは、西部フォアアルルベルク州フェルトキルヒで、この時期としては史上最高となる３６．５度を記録した。
　気象当局によると、今年の６月は３０度以上の日がすでに例年の倍となった。
　スイス・ジュネーブでは３５度を観測。その他複数の自治体でもこれに迫る暑さとなった。ヌーシャテルやファイーでは３４度を超え、過去最高を記録した。
　一方、フランス気象局によると、南西部沿岸の人気リゾート、ビアリッツでは１８日午後、これまでで最高となる４２．９度となった。
　西海岸中部からスペイン国境にかけて高温に注意するよう呼び掛けられた。同日には付近一帯の多くの場所で４０度を超えた。
　気象局の専門家は、今回の熱波は１９４７年以降「フランスで最も早く記録された熱波」だとしている。
　英国では１７日昼過ぎ、今年最高となる３０度以上が観測された。
　イタリア北部では複数の自治体が給水制限を発表した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/21-15:18）

Spain, France and other western European nations sweltered over the weekend under a blistering June heatwave, with some wildfires still blazing even as the weather began to ease.
The soaring temperatures were in line with scientists' predictions that such phenomena will now strike earlier in the year thanks to global warming.
Emergency services battled several wildfires Sunday in northern Spain. The most alarming blaze in the north-western Sierra de Culebra mountain range has destroyed more than 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres), the regional government said.
Firefighters said cooler temperatures overnight had helped them make progress in their battle against the flames.
Residents of some 20 villages evacuated from their homes were allowed to return home Sunday morning, local officials said.
Temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) have been recorded in parts of Spain throughout the week, but they had dipped by Sunday in most of the country.
The mercury was only expected to hit 29C in Madrid on Sunday and 25C in the province of Zamora where the Sierra de Culebra mountain range is located.
There have also been fires in Germany, where temperatures reached 38C in the eastern regions of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony with the eastern city of Cottbus setting a new German record for June of 38.7C.
One fire in the Brandenburg region outside Berlin saw 700 people evacuated, local authorities said, as the blaze threatened three quarters of the town of Treuenbrietzen.
In contrast, several northern regions were shivering in temperatures of 12C.
Austria's western Vorarlberg region hit a seasonal record of 36.5C at Feldkirch on the Swiss border, with the country's ZAMG meteorological institute indicating this June has already seen twice as many days surpassing 30C as normal.
Much of neighbouring Switzerland was also labouring under a heatwave with meteorological authorities indicating Sunday would see more records broken after a slew of hitherto unseen seasonal peaks the previous day.
As Geneva sweltered under 35C, several other towns were not far behind, Neuchatel and Fahy beating previous records topping 34C.
In southern France, a blaze triggered by the firing of an artillery shell in military training burnt around 200 hectares of vegetation, authorities in the Var region said.
There is no threat to anyone except 2,500 sheep who are being evacuated and taken to safety, the local fire brigade chief said.
- Record temperatures -
The popular French southwestern seaside resort of Biarritz saw its highest all-time temperature Saturday afternoon of 42.9C, state forecaster Meteo France said as authorities urged caution from the central western coast down to the Spanish border.
Many parts of the region surpassed 40C, although storms were expected on the Atlantic coast on Sunday evening.
With the River Seine off limits to bathing, scorched Parisians took refuge in the city's fountains.
And at Vincennes Zoo on the outskirts of the capital, shaggy-haired lions licked at frozen blood fed to them by zookeepers, who monitored the enclosure's animals for signs of dehydration.
This is the earliest heatwave ever recorded in France since 1947, said Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Meteo France calling the weather a marker of climate change.
- Foretaste of future -
The UK recorded its hottest day of the year on Friday, with early afternoon temperatures reaching over 30C.
Several towns in northern Italy announced water rationing. The country's dairy cows were putting out 10 percent less milk as a result of the heat, the main agricultural association Coldiretti said Saturday.
Experts warned the high temperatures were caused by worrying climate change trends.
As a result of climate change, heatwaves are starting earlier, said Clare Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.
What we're witnessing today is unfortunately a foretaste of the future.
burs/lcm/cdw/gw