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Paris/International Desk: France, the beautiful country of Europe, is currently facing a severe and unexpected ‘heat emergency’. The heat has shown such a ferocious form in the entire country including the capital Paris, which has changed the history of the last 147 years (1872-2019). This week, more days with temperatures above 40°C have been recorded on the streets of Paris than have been seen in the last 150 years. The situation is so bad that the mercury in Pisos has reached 44.3°C, while the national average temperature of the whole of France has been recorded at 29.8°C. The Meteorological Department has issued ‘Red Heat Alert’ in more than half of the country. More than 40 people have died so far due to this deadly heat, while cases of drowning while searching for relief in rivers and lakes have also increased rapidly.
Why did France suddenly become a ‘heat-chamber’? Know the science behind it
‘Heat Dome’ is believed to be the biggest reason behind this sudden terrible destruction in France. In meteorological terms, it is a ‘high-pressure blocking system’. When a very strong high pressure zone forms in the upper levels of the atmosphere, it starts acting like a giant ‘lid’ in the sky. This lid captures the hot air within a limited area and does not allow it to escape. This stagnant hot air presses downwards and as it comes down, its density increases and it starts boiling more. This dome has been standing continuously over France for the last several days, due to which the temperature is breaking new records every day.
Why is this heat feeling more dangerous in Europe than in India?
Generally, temperature of 40°C to 44°C is not new for Indians, but for the people of Europe this situation is proving fatal. Some of the main reasons behind this are:
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Typical design of European houses: Unlike India, houses in European countries are built with thick walls and strong insulation. This technology helps in keeping the house warm in winter, but in summer it becomes a curse because the heat inside is not able to come out. Like Indian homes, there is very little cross-ventilation here.
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Severe shortage of AC: Due to being accustomed to cold weather, common homes and public places in Europe do not have air conditioning (AC) system. In such a situation, people are left with no way to escape from this sudden scorching heat.
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Urban Heat Island Effect: In big cities like Paris, concrete buildings and asphalt roads absorb the sun’s heat throughout the day and release it back at night, which does not provide relief even at night.
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Excessive Humidity: Due to high temperature and increased humidity, the sweat of the body does not dry up, due to which the body’s natural cooling system fails.
Side effect of global warming: ‘Tropical nights’ are now becoming normal
A recent study by scientists of ‘World Weather Attribution’ (WWA) has shocked the world. Scientists say that it was almost impossible to have such a severe heat wave as the situation in France today in 1976. Even if such a heatwave had occurred during that period, its temperature would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius lower than today. This simply means that human-caused climate change has increased the impact of this heat manifold.
‘Tropical Nights’ have become the biggest concern for experts at this time. These are such nights when the temperature does not drop even after the sun sets and the nights remain extremely hot. Due to the scorching sun during the day and intense heat at night, the human body is not getting a chance to cool itself and get rest. This is the reason why the risk of heat stroke, severe dehydration and heart attack among people has reached dangerous levels.
Not El Nino, human mistakes are responsible; What is its permanent treatment?
Scientists have made it completely clear that it is not nature or El Nino that is responsible for this destructive heat, but the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas by humans. Due to the continuously increasing greenhouse gases in the air, our earth is becoming a furnace. The worrying thing is that the European continent is warming almost twice as fast as the average of the rest of the world.
The only solution to this global crisis is for countries around the world to immediately end their dependence on fossil fuels. Instead, clean and cheap technologies like solar energy and wind energy will have to be adopted on a war footing. Also, now there is a need to design such cities and infrastructure which are equipped with more and more trees, plants and greenery instead of becoming concrete jungles, so that such deadly heatwaves can be faced in future. If strict steps are not taken now, this devastation will become even more prolonged and deadly in the future.