London and Paris Face Heat Waves as Greece Braces for Floods

Ellie Harmsworth, Paul Tugwell and Laura Millan, Bloomberg News

Cars piled up in a street following heavy rain in Villamanta, Madrid region, on Sept. 4. Photographer: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images Europe , Photographer: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images Europe

(Bloomberg) -- London will exceed 30C (86F) on Wednesday, with an autumnal heat wave searing northwest Europe while storms and floods batter the Mediterranean.

Temperatures in the southeast of the UK could climb as high as 33C over the next few days, according to the Met Office. That would fall short of the September record of 35.6C, but could potentially reach the hottest this year. Overnight lows could also test the existing all-time high of 21.7C.

Paris is forecast to remain at or above 30C for the next seven days, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. The heat also spans Germany and Scandinavia.

The Northern Hemisphere has faced searing heat from China to California this summer, with July being the world’s hottest month on record. New Delhi recorded its hottest September day in 85 years this week, as Group of 20 leaders gather in the Indian capital to discuss climate change and other key issues. Fossil fuel emissions are warming the planet, triggering extreme weather from wildfires in Greece and Canada to violent storms and flooding.

By contrast, the UK experienced two months of unseasonably cool weather in July and August. Now an active tropical cyclone season is amplifying the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK and drawing in very warm air, according to the Met Office.

“While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heat wave conditions are likely across much of England and Wales especially, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to see some unseasonably high temperatures,” Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong said in a statement.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber alert, highlighting increased risks to those more vulnerable to heat.

In southern Europe, last month’s extreme heat has given way to heavy rains and thunderstorms. An emergency bulletin for dangerous weather has been issued across Greece, with gale-force winds and the risk of flash floods.

In the central Greek city of Volos, municipal and public services have closed and traffic has been halted as a huge storm over nearby mountains threatens flooding. Fire services have confirmed that one man has died, with another missing. Police have also banned traffic on the nearby island of Skiathos.

The storm, called Daniel, is expected to impact the greater Athens region of Attica on Wednesday morning.

“Today we are confronting a very extreme weather phenomenon,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. “We no longer have any doubt that the climate crisis is not about the future, it’s about the present, and we don’t need science to confirm it, unfortunately life itself confirms it.”

That follows flooding in Spain over the past few days, with heavy rainfall damaging infrastructure and disrupting transport.

At least five people have died and three have disappeared over the past three days as floods hit the country, according to local media reports. Some rail routes remained shut on Tuesday morning, according to operator Renfe.

(Updates with New Delhi heat in fourth paragraph and map at end of story)