Europe's heatwave: Ask the experts

BBC weatherman Rob McElwee and Frances Tuke from the Association of British Travel Agents, answered your questions.

Click here to read the transcript

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Large swathes of Europe have been sweltering in exceptional summer heat - in some cases the highest for decades.

From Portugal to Finland, soaring temperatures and sunshine have brought delight to tourists but headaches for farmers and industry.

Swiss temperatures hit their highest for 200 years - reaching 37C (99F). Parts of glaciers were reported to be melting, lakes were reaching bath-like temperatures and some fish struggling for oxygen were being moved to cooler waters.

Efforts by French firefighters to control forest fires have been hampered by the conditions.

Dry weather and soaring temperatures have led to hundreds of blazes throughout Europe.

You put your questions to BBC weatherman Rob McElwee and to Frances Tuke from the Association of British Travel Agents in an interactive forum.

The picture above was sent in by online user Stephen Proops from St Tropez and shows the smoke from the forest fires.

Send us your pictures of the heatwave sweeping Europe.

If you want to e-mail it to us, send it to [e-mail] .

If you want to send your picture from your mobile phone, dial 07970 885089. You can send them from any network or phone. Please send the large full size images (usually 640x480 pixels) taken by the mobiles otherwise they are too small to publish.

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Transcript

Pallab Ghosh:
Hello and welcome to this BBC news interactive forum. This week we've seen the dramatic pictures of the fires engulfing southern France. Although it's suspected that they might have been started deliberately, the task of trying to bring them under control has been made more difficult by the weather conditions. The dry weather and soaring temperatures have led to hundreds of blazes elsewhere in Europe. Portugal and Corsica are among the other countries that have been badly affected. The fires are just part of a wider crisis on the continent, as the prolonged heatwave and drought are wreaking havoc on the farming and tourism industries. It seems that the situation will get worse, as forecasters are warning of high winds. Well joining me in the studio to answer your questions, are BBC weatherman Rob McElwee and Frances Tuke, from the Association of British Travel Agents. Welcome to you both.

Rob, perhaps if I could start by asking you what the weather has been like across Europe and whether it's going to get worse?

Rob McElwee:
I think you summed it up - heatwave would be the single word and for most of central and western Europe that has been with no rain. Now in Eastern Europe, although it started off pretty poor, I think the early crops were damaged, there's now been rain. But that rain has been absent as you point out and everything is tinder dry and easily sparked off and that's been going since, I think, the first two weeks in July, it's been really a heatwave - it is still going.

Pallab Ghosh:
Frances, from your point of view, from the feedback you've been receiving from your holidaymakers, is this the hottest ever weather in Europe?

Frances Tuk:
Well I don't think so. I think we've seen really quite high temperatures before. In Greece, for example, a couple of years ago it was up in the 40s [centigrade], which is extremely hot. On the whole, that's why people go on holiday in Europe because they can be sure of hot temperatures. Obviously at the moment it's getting a little too hot. But if you're on holiday, you don't have to take it so hard, you're not out there working and you don't have to run around and be frantic. You can take it easy and enjoy it. But it is important to take a few precautions as well.

Pallab Ghosh:
From the feedback we've been getting from you, it certainly has been hot, hot, hot. Many of you have been sending in your own pictures and we've also received a video of one of the fires in France. This video was sent in by Stephen Proops. You can see smoke billowing out of the forest here and it's one of these fires that was very difficult to bring under control. We don't know whether it was started deliberately. But sadly you can see the smoke there. This view was sent from the 55 Beach Club in St. Tropez. It must be very difficult to bring this kind of situation under control under such hot and difficult circumstances when the weather is against you.

Rob, we can see from these pictures, this is typical of what's been going on across Europe. The obvious question, and you must be asked this every time there's a heatwave - is it due to global warming?

Rob McElwee:
Yes, it would be nice to be able to answer it so simply as to say yes or no. But the thing about global warming is that it's an average slow rise in temperatures, which doesn't necessarily mean that it will get hotter in one place every year, it changes the general weather pattern. So on average long term yes, places like most of Europe will get hotter. But also it redistributes the rainfall and again it's on average. So just because this year is hot and I think last year was quite hot, this year is a drought, last year wasn't particularly - next year might cooler and wetter. But take it 50 years ahead and this is of course where you'll be quite interested, and the conditions will generally be hotter and probably drier during the summer. But from year to year - the jury is out.

Pallab Ghosh:
Frances, is this something that the holiday industry really is planning for?

Frances Tuk:
I don't know whether planning is exactly the right word, certainly the industry is aware, not necessarily with beaches, but with, for example, the Alps and the skiing season is particularly affected right now and the skiing season is a bit shorter than it used to be.

In terms of beach weather, well yes, we are thinking that perhaps if the weather is really good perhaps it will be good in Britain and people will want to stay here rather than go away on their holidays. So that's obviously something that the industry is very interested in.

Pallab Ghosh:
Rob, an e-mail in from Andy Lee, London who asks: Every year the weather seems to break records with the hottest or wettest or driest seasons. Is global warming bring extremes of weather in your opinion and is it going to continue this way in the future?

Rob McElwee:
Logic would say yes, because if you inject more energy into a system like the global weather then its got to show itself by extremes - more storms, higher temperatures and this sort of thing. Whether you can attribute the last few years' apparently more frequent extremes to this, it is hard to say. But I would agree that it appears that way.

Some of the records they are a little bit false, for example, you get day records in the US, where this is the hottest August 4th - well of course they're easily exceeded. But in general I would agree with the premise that extremes are being exceeded every year by wetness and by heat and by hours of sunshine and I expect in the long run we will say yes is it attributable to global warming. I couldn't say so yet - I'd just like to.

Pallab Ghosh:
All these weather forecasts and models are based on what's happened in the past because there's this new thing called global warming is it going to make predictions - is it going to make your job more difficult and mean that you're going to get it less right in future?

Rob McElwee:
Well you are not quite right in saying that the forecasts are based on what's happened in the past. The forecasts are based on the physics of the atmosphere injected into a computer model and that's why they can only go so far with some detailed accuracy - beyond that chaos theory reigns. But you can run the background model and you can say, we're going to inject this much more CO2, this much more methane and possibly other things as well and so what's the overall background pattern - and that's been consistent in its story that there will be an overall average rise for the next umpteen decades and there's no end to it necessarily.

Pallab Ghosh:
Rob, a question from Miguel, Spain who asks: I live in Madrid and I can tell you that this is a particular scorching summer. Today's temperature reached 39 degrees, and 44 degrees is expected in Seville. These values are not records, however, what is exceptional is the duration of the heatwave. Do you think Spain is going to have northern Africa's summers, and maybe, in the near future, the rest of Europe (southern England?) will have a typical old Spanish summer?

Rob McElwee:
There's something in what he says there because if you look at the patterns, the forecasts, the general weather throughout the next few decades - the global warming pattern - then yes, a good part of Europe is likely to see hotter and drier summers and some parts will benefit from wetter winters. So you do counterbalance and yes you do change the climate as you describe it from Mediterranean on the Spanish plateau to North African - that wouldn't be a bad description.

Pallab Ghosh:
Frances, we've got a question just in from Val, Suffolk UK: My daughters are also in Issambres on holiday with family. They told me a helicopter went overhead with a loudspeaker telling all to evacuate and there was pandemonium on the roads. My daughter said it seemed like a war situation with planes flying overhead, loudspeakers, darkness and not the best conditions when breathing.

It raises the question as to what you should do when you get yourself into an emergency situation on holiday. What tips would you have if something like a fire breaks out or some other emergency situation?

Frances Tuk:
I think it's really important to follow the advice that's been given to you by authorities. So if a person with a loudspeaker is saying you should get out of your house now, that's what you should do. I think that's basically all you can do. We are living in a less relaxed world than we were a few years ago and I think it's important on all fronts not just natural disasters, to take warnings very seriously.

Pallab Ghosh:
How do you get information when you find yourself in a crisis situation?

Frances Tuk:
I think that would be very difficult if you were up in an isolated valley or on a mountain away from technology. But the Foreign Office website, for example, is very, very good. Look at the Foreign Office website, they will give you quite detailed information about what's been happening recently - whether that's a natural disaster or, for example, like Spain where we saw some ETA attacks. If something really serious has happened and there is a risk to any Britons, the Foreign Office will advise against travel.

Pallab Ghosh:
A question to you Rob from Jim Taylor, Japan who asks: Would you agree that the unusually hot weather in Europe is just part of a bigger picture of strange weather patterns across the entire globe? Here in Japan the rainy season has been 3 - 5 degrees cooler than average with what normally feels like a sauna being replaced by an overcast British sky for most of June and July.

Rob McElwee:
He's right in what he say there and it goes back to what I said - the global warming thing is a change in overall weather patterns. So some places are hotter and drier in the summer and some places will have a different wet season - look at China, the same rain that's been falling in Japan has also fallen in Korea and central China leading to the flooding. Now whether that will happen more often, I'm not entirely sure, this might be part of the change of the weather patterns - maybe that rain will move further north and Japan will end up drier. That information isn't directly in my head but yes, I think it is all part of the changing pattern globally.

Pallab Ghosh:
Sergio, UK: Why is it that all these European countries are going through this long heat wave and England has had a really short heatwave followed by the usual extended period of wet and grey?

Rob McElwee:
He'll be pleased to know that next week, the UK joins in the rest of Europe with a heatwave because we've had the benefit of having rain for the last two weeks so we're not going to be parched and dry. I would say we've got an ideal summer.

Pallab Ghosh:
Kelly Pickard, UK: I am on honeymoon in Sicily starting 30th August and am very worried as Italy is deciding on whether or not to declare a state of emergency. I know this hot weather will break but will it result in major storms which can be more devastating than the hot weather that preceded them?

Rob McElwee:
I can't go as far as the 30th August - that's beyond any sensible forecast nor can I answer the political question of whether or not there will be a state of emergency. So I can't help very much with that one I'm afraid.

Pallab Ghosh:
Frances, those caught in a heatwave, who may be on holiday now, what precautions should they be taking?

Frances Tuk:
Interestingly I think the Australians are very well prepared for this kind of thing and they have the "slip, slop and slap" policy out in Australia that's very, very sensible. If you are caught in some very hot weather it's good to slip on a tee shirt, make sure you've got plenty of sun lotion - slop that on, and slap on a hat. That prevents you from getting sunburnt, from getting heat exhaustion and sunstroke and also it will keep you protected on your arms etc. The other thing is stay out of the midday sun. I think that's really applicable whether you're in a heatwave or not when you're in hotter climates than Britain. Also watch the alcohol intake - any hydration issues are of real importance when you're in a hot country. And in some places, like Egypt for example where there's a likelihood you may have tummy problems, it may well be worth taking along some rehydration salts as well especially if you are being active, you need to make sure that you're hydrated.

Pallab Ghosh:
K S Morgan, UK: Can you confirm that the following advice is sound or not. If you are caught outside in a heatwave the first thing you must do is to find cover, if no cover is available you must cover you head and shoulders as soon as possible, drink plenty of water and try not to participate in strenuous activity and protect children first?

Frances Tuk:
Absolutely right and with children it's really important to look after them because their skin is thinner. You really shouldn't expose to much of the sun at all. With babies it's particularly important that they don't get dehydrated and it would be a good idea to talk to your doctor or health visitor before you go - especially if they are very, very young babies and maybe haven't been weaned yet as to what precautions or what to do if it becomes very hot and your baby becomes very hot because there may be issues with the local water and things like that.

Pallab Ghosh:
Finally if I can just ask you both a question from Graeme Phillips, UK: Do you ever get mystified by how some people get miserable as a result of weather that others enjoy?

Frances Tuk:
Yes I do especially in Britain - we do go away and enjoy hot weather elsewhere but here I think we have to accept the fact that it does rain quite a lot in Britain and perhaps we should enjoy that more. When you come back from holiday, it's great to see the green fields etc. and that's all because it has been raining.

Pallab Ghosh:
Rob, do you enjoy all weathers as a weatherman?

Rob McElwee:
I enjoy all weathers, much for the reasons that Frances just said. This country is green because it rains and when the sun's out it is beautiful and green. Luckily we don't normally get long periods of any one particular type of weather, it does change.

Pallab Ghosh:
My thanks to our guests Frances Tuke, and Rob McElwee, and of course to you for your many questions. Remember if you have pictures that you think are interesting, you can e-mail them to us, at [e-mail]. From me, Pallub Ghosh and the rest of the news interactive team here in London, goodbye.