Countries in western Europe “are bracing for extreme heat this week”, reports Politico. The outlet says: “Spain and Portugal are set to experience the most extreme heat this week, with parts of Portugal expected to register temperatures of nearly 104 F, a record for May. The extreme heat is caused by a “heat dome”, in which “warm air moving up from Northern Africa has become trapped under a high-pressure system over Western Europe”. This phenomenon is becoming more common as a result of climate change. In the United Kingdom, temperatures reached 95 F more than 3 F about the previous record.
Heat domes occur when strong, high-pressure systems trap hot ocean and atmospheric air, acting like a lid over a region. Climate change exponentially worsens these events. By raising baseline global temperatures, altering the jet stream, and rapidly melting Arctic ice, climate change makes heat domes hotter and significantly more likely to occur.