The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
From Death Valley to the Swiss mountains, extreme weather records hit new heights
As sweltering conditions continue to grip large parts of Europe, temperatures have “reached new heights” in Switzerland, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Tuesday.
Speaking in Geneva, WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said that a new altitude record for the freezing point had been set a day earlier, climbing to 5298 metres (17,381 feet) – well above Europe’s very highest peaks including Mont Blanc, at 4,811 metres (15,784 feet).
WMO figures show that this is 115 metres above the previous record of 25 July 2022 and the highest since measurements began in 1954.
Chilling effect
Ms. Nullis explained that the freezing level had been measured by a Meteo-Suisse weather balloon above Payerne in the western canton of Vaud. “The impact of this heat on glaciers is playing out before our eyes,” she said. “The freezing level in the glaciers, [and] the disappearance of snow was dramatic last year. Unfortunately, with this latest heatwave, that trend is continuing.”
Meanwhile, large parts of Switzerland are on level three amber alert or the top-level red alert until Thursday, the WMO spokesperson said. Temperatures in much of the southern half of France are forecast to be “above 37C” on Tuesday, “reaching a peak of 40C to 42C in the Drome region.
Heat is on
The WMO spokesperson pointed out that French national weather forecaster Météo-France had issued an amber alert for 49 departments and a red alert for four. The French national meteorological service said that numerous station records had fallen - both maximum daytime temperatures and minimum overnight ones, which have a particular impact on health. Ms. Nullis warned that there were also red alerts in parts of Italy, Croatia and Portugal and widespread amber heat alerts in neighbouring countries.
On the other hand, parts of Europe and in particular Scandinavia have seen “unusually heavy precipitation. Norway once again on Tuesday issued a red alert for heavy rainfall, “a life-threatening risk in the southern part of the country”, Ms. Nullis added.
In response to questions about the how many people are at risk from the unrelenting heat, UN World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson, Tarik Jašarević, said that statistics from last summer showed that more than 61,000 people had died from heat-related causes in 35 European countries in summer 2022.
Glacier marker
The impact of extreme temperatures on glaciers is under investigation, but the effects of the heatwave are clear, with snow cover now present only at the highest elevations in Switzerland, according to WMO.
The UN agency defines heatwaves as “a period of statistically unusual hot weather persisting for a number of days and nights”. The current baseline used to gauge how extreme conditions are is the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.
Although the meteorological summer is coming to an end in the northern hemisphere, it is impossible to state with any certainty whether the current heatwave will be the last this season. And although there had been expert discussions on naming heatwaves in the same way as tropical cyclones, WMO has no plans to do so, maintaining that the two weather systems are not comparable and that such a move might detract from public safety messaging.
Americas alert
Outside Europe, sweltering conditions have continued in much of the central and southern USA, with multiple excessive heat warnings issued in the central Plains States and Texas. Tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic has also been “ramping up”, said Ms. Nullis, adding that three tropical systems – Gert, Franklin, and Harold – were of “particular concern”.
Franklin has brought the risk of flooding to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, while Harold is predicted to make landfall in southern Texas bringing very heavy rainfall and the risk of flash-flooding at a time when the state was battling extreme heat and drought.
Ms. Nullis said that hurricane Hilary had now dissipated but had reached parts of southern California, which rarely witnessed such rainfall. Virtually all precipitation records in Los Angeles had been broken, the WMO official added, noting that Death Valley has just seen its all-time wettest day on record, with 2.20 inches (55.88 mm) of rainfall, breaking the previous record of 1.70 inches set in August 2022.
In a related development, WMO’s Greater Horn of Africa Weather Forum was due to meet on Tuesday, before issuing its latest update for the rest of the year.
ends
STORY: EXTREME WEATHER UPDATE
TRT: 02:36”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 22 AUGUST 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot of panel.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “Switzerland has a new altitude record for the freezing point of 5298 meters. So that's the 17,381 feet, and that was measured by a Meteo-Suisse radiosonde carried by a weather balloon above Payerne.”
- Side view of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “This heat on glaciers is, you know, playing out before our eyes as we speak. The freezing level in the glaciers, the disappearance of snow was dramatic last year. And unfortunately, with this latest heat wave that trend is continuing.”
- Close of screen with speakers.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Tarik Jašarević, WHO spokesperson: “ There was a study published on July 10th by researchers from European health institutes. And in this study, there is an estimate that more than 61,000 people died from heat related causes across 35 European countries in summer 2022.”
- Close of lap top screens.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “Temperatures in much of the southern half of France for the next couple of days are forecast to be above 37 degrees Celsius and reaching a peak of 40 to 42 degrees Celsius in the Drome region. Meteo France has issued an amber alert for 49 departments and the top level red alert for four departments today.”
- Close of attendees typing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “There are red alerts in parts of Italy, Croatia, Portugal and widespread amber heat alerts in neighboring countries. It's not uniform. We tend to, you know, we've been talking a lot about heat. Parts of Europe, in particular Scandinavia, have seen unusually heavy precipitation.”
- Cameras with panellists in background.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “Norway once again today has a red alert for heavy for heavy rainfall. So a life threatening risk in the southern part of the country for heavy rainfall.”
- Close of laptop with speaker in background.
- Side view of attendees at briefing
- Close of attendees typing.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the ongoing violence in the occupied WestBank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk made the following remarks on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
UN Human Rights Council holds special session on Sudan as mass atrocities reported in El Fasher
The UN Human Rights Council convened an emergency session on Friday on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, following reports of mass killings in the North Darfur capital. States passed a resolution that will mandate an investigation into likely mass atrocities during the capture of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October.
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).