Europe is experiencing a serious heat wave at the moment, and we have the satellite data to prove it.
In new data from Europe's Sentinel-3 mission, we can see the scorching temperatures spreading across the continent.
What is it?
Severe weather alerts are in effect across Western Europe as millions cope with extreme temperatures. This new image uses data from the Sentinel-3 mission to show in vibrant color just how extreme and far-reaching this heat has been.
The Northern Hemisphere hasn't yet made it to summer, but temperatures in Southern Europe are already reaching up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), and temperatures as far north as London are soaring above 95 degrees F (35 degrees C). Scorching heat has been recorded across the continent, in Hungary, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and a range of other countries.
To clarify just how unusual these temperatures are, temperatures in London for the month of May typically average between 50 and 66 degrees F (10 to 19 degrees C). And these middling temperatures are often coupled with rain.
Sentinel-3, which launched in 2018, is a European satellite that was developed as part of the Copernicus Earth-observation program, a project run by the European Commission with support from the European Space Agency. It's part of a series of Earth-observing satellites that look down at our planet to study changes across the seas and land.
Why is it incredible?
This latest heat wave is yet another reminder that climate change is having impacts around the planet.
“We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that heat wave events such as this have been made more likely and more severe due to climate change,” Peter Thorne, director of the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University in Ireland, told CNN. “But nevertheless many of the records being set, particularly in the U.K. and France, are mind-bogglingly crazy."
And while the term "space mission" usually conjures up images of astronauts on the moon or telescopes looking at far-off worlds, it also applies to a variety of projects like Sentinel-3, which look back at us here on Earth. Space is an incredible vantage point from which we can better understand how our planet is changing, and how it will continue to change.
