Climate and Dynamics

Doubled length of western European summer heat waves since 1880

  1. P. M. Della-Marta1,2,3,
  2. M. R. Haylock4,
  3. J. Luterbacher1,5,
  4. H. Wanner1,5

Article first published online: 3 AUG 2007

DOI: 10.1029/2007JD008510

Issue

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (1984–2012)

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (1984–2012)

Additional Information

How to Cite

Della-Marta, P. M., M. R. Haylock, J. Luterbacher, and H. Wanner (2007), Doubled length of western European summer heat waves since 1880, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D15103, doi:10.1029/2007JD008510.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

  2. 2

    Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss, Zurich, Switzerland

  3. 3

    Bureau of Meteorology, National Climate Centre, Melbourne, Australia

  4. 4

    Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

  5. 5

    National Center of Competence in Research on Climate (NCCR), Bern, Switzerland

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 AUG 2007
  2. Article first published online: 3 AUG 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 16 MAY 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 27 APR 2007
  5. Manuscript Received: 5 FEB 2007

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Keywords:

  • Climate extremes;
  • observations;
  • temperature

[1] We analyzed a new data set of 54 high-quality homogenized daily maximum temperature series from western Europe (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom) to define more accurately the change in extreme warm Daily Summer Maximum Temperature (DSMT). Results from the daily temperature homogeneity analysis suggest that many instrumental measurements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were warm-biased. Correcting for these biases, over the period 1880 to 2005 the length of summer heat waves over western Europe has doubled and the frequency of hot days has almost tripled. The DSMT Probability Density Function (PDF) shows significant changes in the mean (+1.6 ± 0.4°C) and variance (+6 ± 2%). These conclusions help further the evidence that western Europe's climate has become more extreme than previously thought and that the hypothesized increase in variance of future summer temperature has indeed been a reality over the last 126 years.

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