Roberto Bracero clarifies what is the real heat record recorded in Europe

If you were asked today what is the highest official temperature recorded in Europe, the correct answer is: 48.8ºC. Registered in Syracuse, Italy, summer 2021, and since then a committee of experts has been conducting a report to see if this is true. And it was today when The World Meteorological Organization has published the validity of this data And so, as of today, that number and that location appears to be the hottest time continental Europe has experienced recently.

He previous record He was registered in the 48th Greece in 1977, But that’s officially behind us and from now on August 11, 2021 it becomes 48.8º in Syracuse. You certainly remember that summer because it was extremely hot throughout Southern Europe: Italy, Greece, Portugal and even Spain… It was a heat of 47.6 degrees Celsius. La Rambla in CordobaWhich achieved the record of highest temperature ever recorded in the entire country, leaving behind the city of Montoro in Cordoba.

Why did it take so long?

We can say that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) takes its time. The data considered does not come from any weather station or any thermometer, like the one at the corner pharmacy. These stations and thermometers must be approved in advance. And so, Why do they take almost three years to validate a record?

Because things in the palace move slowly and so do things in science.

It is important for the data to be reliable. “Most investigations – like this one – are lengthy processes due to the meticulous care taken by WMO in authenticating meteorological observations. Such thorough evaluations provide the necessary confidence that our global temperature records are being measured correctly, ” says WMO reporter Professor Randall Cerveny. On climate and extreme weather events.

In this case, the press release explains, the WMO committee conducted a thorough analysis of the available data and metadata, including independent analysis and calibration of the Siracusa sensor and its associated data logger and sun shield. He The temperature sensor from Sicily was sent to the Instituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica. (INRIIM), Italy, for testing. Activities included calibration and evaluation of the entire system (sensors, sun shield and data logger), in the same configuration as it was recording at the time of the extreme temperature event. The tests conformed to all WMO standards and recommended practices. Additionally, the Committee determined that in August 2021, there was a very strong upper-level ridge over the region at the time of the extreme temperatures. The new analyzes and data from other nearby sites match observations of extreme temperatures. The committee unanimously accepted the observation of 48.8⁰C as valid.

What happened to the world heat record?

This study, research, and verification of data is common in climate science. One of them was the one that “almost” changed the world heat record a few years ago.

As of 2012, the highest temperature recorded on Earth was believed to be 57.8ºC. Registered in Libya on September 13, 1922, And this is not because the record was broken that year, but because the previous record was invalidated. The scientific community was always a little “stunned” by this information and after several years of intensive study, the World Meteorological Organization rejected its validity: the look of an inexperienced observer, and according to the WMO, “without training in the use of The “measuring device” could mistakenly read the temperature indicated by mercury, a failure that would have been exacerbated by placing the station on a base of asphalt, a material that increases temperatures.

“The weather station was moved three times. In its first location (from 1913 to 1920), it recorded a maximum temperature of 48 degrees, while in the second (from 1920 to 1926), when the thermometer was placed on the top of a hill And on asphalt grounds, it reached 58 degrees,” the report said, among other findings. After holding it for 90 years, the Libyan desert lost first place on the global heat platform “in offices”… falling to the second highest record: 56.7º recorded on July 10, 1913. California Death Valley (USA).

That is currently the record accepted by the WMO, but there is some doubt about this data. Christopher C. Burt, the expert who led the Libya report, believes the 1913 Death Valley reading is “a myth” and that at least 2.2 or 2.8 °C is too high. Burt proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth may still be in Death Valley, but is instead 54.0 °C (recorded June 30, 2013).

That data will be more current and a little shorter, but from the same place: the famous Death Valley in California where thousands of tourists come every year to take photos in front of its hot thermometer, which, without going further, marks the world’s highest altitude. temperature. Last year: 53.3°C was recorded in Furnace Creek, Death Valley in 2023.

It’s still not raining in Spain

Coming back to today, we look at the weather in Spain… despite it being winter, we don’t see too much cold. We’ll wake up on Wednesday with similar low temperatures to today, and the afternoon will once again have spring vibes like this late January. And without rain. Early morning fog will be repeated in many places and will be persistent in Castilla y León and the Ebro valley, where there are areas where it may not lift all day.

Low clouds will also continue in the Mediterranean communities and strong Levante winds in the strait, where a few drops may fall, as well as at points in the Valencian Community. Small matter. Fog and some gusts of strong wind continue in the Canary Islands. And February will come and we will still not see any notable rain in Spain