The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Monday that many parts of Europe have been impacted by a severe, early heatwave since June 27 and warned of record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in North America. "The heatwave is still ongoing and it is premature to say whether it can be attributed to climate change or whether it is due to naturally occurring climate variability," Omar Baddour, coordinator of WMO's World Climate Data and Monitoring Program, said in a statement. "But climate change scenarios predict that heatwaves will become more intense, more frequent and longer. It is notable that the time between major heatwaves (2003, 2010, and 2015) is getting shorter." According to the WMO, many parts of Europe will continue to see above average temperatures and dry conditions. The heatwave is much earlier than normal and the continent is much better prepared with heat-related action plans. Many parts of the western United States also are suffering from high temperatures, increasing the risk of wildfires. No less than 623 climatic stations broke daily maximum high records in the last seven days, and 176 broke all-time records for maximum temperatures, the statement said. "The wildfire situation this summer has mainly been triggered by repeated lightning storms tracking across an abnormally dry state. The lightning has been astonishing; on June 21-23, some 50,000 lightning strikes were recorded in Alaska," the WMO said.
