Global warming impacts in mega-heatwaves

Trabajo presentado en las 5ª Journée Climat et Impacts (2018), celebradas en Orsay (Francia), del 29 al 30 de noviembre de 2018
This work examines the global warming contribution to mega-heatwaves in western Europe. The exceptional June 2017 mega-heatwave (which affected western and central Europe) was used as a case study. This event shows that mega-heatwaves are not only more frequent and intense than in the past, but also are extending to earlier dates. So the associated mega-heatwave impacts (record-breaking temperatures, devasting wildfires, human causalities and economical losses) are extending out of high-summer. Using the analogue method, we found that a record-breaking subtropical ridge was the main triggering factor. However, the thermodynamical changes of the last decades made a substantial contribution to the exceptionality of the event.