Summer has arrived with full force across the northern hemisphere, bringing extreme heat to many countries. Northern parts of India have been experiencing a heatwave, and Delhi recorded a minimum night temperature of 35.2C, the warmest night the capital has recorded since June 2010, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
A maximum temperature of 44.7C was recorded on Wednesday in Ganganagar, in the north-west of the country, close to the Pakistan border. The high temperatures have pushed power demands to record highs of 8,647MW for Delhi alone, with the total consumption for northern India rising to almost 90,000MW on Tuesday. A plane was also left stranded on the ground for more than an hour during the heatwave without any air conditioning.
Temperatures in Saudi Arabia soared above 50C this week, causing the deaths of at least 550 Muslims travelling to Mecca for their Hajj pilgrimage.
The north-east US and eastern Canada have also been experiencing a heatwave, or as some have called it, a “heat dome”, a term that has become popular recently. Like “heatwave”, it refers to a period of above-average temperatures, but under specific meteorological conditions: when there is stable, long-lasting high pressure that brings a lot of sunny weather and traps the warm air.
France and Germany had an unsettled week with frequent thunderstorms developing as cooler air from northern parts of Europe clashed with warm air from southern parts. The heavy rain closed many fan zones for safety reasons at the Euro 2024 football tournament in Germany. There were also reports of a tornado in France that destroyed a farmhouse and hailstones as large as 6cm.
Storm Alberto, the first named tropical storm of the hurricane season, developed over the Gulf of Mexico this week and made landfall with Mexico on Thursday, bringing strong winds and flooding. Up to 200mm of rain hit fell in some areas of southern Texas. This is considered to be the start of an active hurricane season, with 17-25 named storms being forecast, up to 13 of which are expected to become hurricanes.