2007 European heat wave
Encyclopedia
| 2007 European heat wave | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 17 June 2007 – 27 June 2007 20–26 July 2007 |
|
| Areas affected | Mostly southern and eastern Europe | |
The 2007 European heatwave was a heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
that affected most of Southern Europe
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. The phenomenon began affecting Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on June 17 and expanded into Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the rest of the Balkans, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
on June 18.
June 2007
Up until June 21, temperatures generally hovered around 36°C-39°C in most of the aforementioned countries; however, starting on June 22, temperatures skyrocketed in this entire region. From this point on Greece, Italy, AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
experienced record-breaking temperatures in a situation unprecedented even for these nations, typically used to conditions of extreme heat.
During the weekend of June 23–24 and on June 25, temperatures soared to 43°C-44°C. By June 26, however, Greece seemed to bear the brunt of the heatwave with temperatures in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
reaching 46.2°C (115.1°F) and with demand for electricity reaching unprecedented levels, (mainly due to an excessive use of air conditioners). As a result, the entire system nearly collapsed and in order to avoid a total black-out authorities decided to cut electricity in many districts and suburbs of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
.
In addition to these, a number of electricity-bearing, underground wires literally melted while some transformers even erupted into flames adding even more problems to the already unfolding crisis. What is more, more than 200 people had already been rushed to the hospitals for heat-related treatment and, overall, 18 people lost their lives from heat exhaustion. By June 28 northerly winds started blowing from the northwest and temperatures finally began falling, reaching a cooler 39°C. Nonetheless, at a time when everyone believed that the worst part was over, more than 100 fires erupted across the country. Two people perished in the village of Aghia, near the city of Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
. In the evening of that same day a major wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
broke out in Mount Parnitha near Athens. By the dawn of June 29, a significant part of the popular Parnitha National Park had turned into ashes. Temperatures fell as much as 6 more degrees Celsius and the worst heatwave since records began came to an end leaving Greece reeling upon its disastrous effects.
July 2007
By late July, temperatures again rose to more than 40°C in the region, seriously affecting agriculture, the electricity supply, forestry and human health. From July 21 to July 25, most parts of Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia soared at temperatures reaching or exceeding 45°C. Over 500 deaths in Hungary were attributed to the heatwave by the deputy director of the National Institute of Environmental Health. Major and widespread wildfires destroyed large forested areas across the region. Six people (including two Canadair pilots) lost their lives while trying to extinguish the flames in Greece while the country's electricity grid nearly collapsed for a second time due to a record breaking demand caused by an extensive use of air conditioning units. Hundreds of tourists were stranded in beaches of Puglia, ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and were rescued by boats.
In Bulgaria, at least eight deaths were directly attributed to the extreme temperatures in July. Most of the victims were elderly people suffering from chronic diseases. Six people were killed in the fires that started on Saturday 22 July and that continued well into the next week. There were an estimated 1,530 cases of fire in just four days (Friday 20 - Tuesday 24 July 2007), three times the yearly average. Fires raged in almost every corner of the country but the largest fire was near Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
where 20 square miles (50 km²) of pine forest burned uncontrollably for three days. Firefighters were unable to put out the fire by conventional means. Strong winds and the extremely dry air quickly sparked new fires and by Sunday the situation was out of control. The government turned for help to Russia and Be-200 amphibious water bomber flew in on Saturday to help fight the blaze near Stara Zagora. On Monday, more fires broke out but the one near Stara Zagora was contained. The fire caused extensive damage to the forest and wild life. Estimates vary but this fire alone caused at least two million euros worth of damage.
August 2007
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See also
- 2007 Bulgarian heat wave
- 2007 South Asian heat wave