Why temperature records are being not only broken but smashed

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Why temperature records are being not only broken but smashed30 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMark PoyntingClimate researcherReutersHundreds of temperature records have been broken in France during an unprecedented heatwaveIf you take a look across western Europe at the moment, you'll struggle to find many places escaping the heat. In the UK, temperatures passed 35C on Tuesday – more than 2C above the previous record for May. This heat would be exceptional even in the middle of summer, let alone spring, the Met Office says.

"Absolutely astonishing," says Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London. "Mind-bogglingly crazy," adds Peter Thorne, director of the Icarus Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University in Ireland. France is also in the midst of an unprecedented early-season heatwave, according to its weather service, Météo-France.

The Details

Hundreds of heat records have been broken around the country. Ireland's May temperature record has been surpassed by more than 1C, while Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland have all faced unusually hot conditions for spring too. The immediate cause of the heatwave is a "heat dome" – where an area of high pressure gets "stuck" over Europe, trapping warm air underneath.

But scientists have little doubt that human-caused climate change - largely the result of the burning of coal, oil and gas - has supercharged the heat. Hottest May day record broken again as temperature hits 35. 1C in LondonA really simple guide to climate changeSix ways to keep your home and yourself cool in hot weatherOver the last 30 years, Europe has been warming by 0.

56C per decade – more than twice the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service. That might not sound like much, but it is a seismic change in climate terms and enough to make heat extremes significantly more intense. "When we have a heatwave it's happening more severely, because it's on top of a warming climate," Richard Betts, head of climate impacts research at the Met Office and a professor at the University of Exeter, told News.

What Experts Say

"I've been a climate scientist for 33 years and we're seeing exactly the kinds of things that we were warning back then... these records are perhaps more extreme and coming sooner than we had expected," he added. And the heat isn't limited to Europe, with temperatures reaching 45C in Delhi in India.

Records not just broken but smashedAs scientists collect year after year of temperature data, records should in fact become rarer over time – at least in a stable climate. The simple logic is that you're much more likely to see a new record after 10 years of data than after 100 years. "If someone beats a world record in high jump, you would expect them to beat it by one centimetre and not suddenly by 20, 30 centimetres and the same holds for the weather," Erich Fischer, professor at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, told News.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.