The upcoming heat wave, which could see temperatures reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius, will significantly worsen the already extreme drought in the Czech Republic, and the entire country will face the highest risk of wildfires, according to warnings issued yesterday by the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences-CzechGlobe.
It is not yet clear how long the heat wave will last or what the maximum temperatures will be, but scientists from the institute warn that it could well be intense and prolonged, with a significant impact on human health, society and the natural environment.
“Very high temperatures are likely to persist until 4-8 August, after which they should return to the typical values observed between 1991 and 2020,” the scientists stated. Forecasts vary slightly each day depending on the model used.
Currently, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model indicates that the last day with temperatures above 30 degrees should be Friday, 7 August, with temperatures potentially dropping to around 30 degrees this weekend. The GFS model, on the other hand, predicts a hot weekend but forecasts a cooling trend to temperatures around 30 degrees starting on Tuesday, with a drop below tropical levels across the entire Czech Republic expected by Friday.
The Czech Republic has already experienced a long heat wave this year, during the second half of June. During this period, all-time Czech records were broken repeatedly, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Scientists warn that high night-time temperatures are even more dangerous to human health, as they prevent the body from properly resting and regenerating.
During the upcoming heat wave, tropical nights are expected for several days in a row across a major part of the country. Even before the second heatwave has begun, this year has already ranked among the most extreme heatwave years ever.
“This year, the thresholds for the heat index (above 32 degrees) were exceeded most frequently, on 8 to 12 days,” the scientists stated. “We also recorded a high number of such days in 2006, but at that time it affected only the areas at lower elevations. Other severe years were 2010, 2015 and 2019.”
During the coming heatwave, soil drought is expected to reach its greatest extent this year. Within a week, 30% of the country is expected to experience extreme drought, and another roughly 50% is expected to experience the next two worst levels of drought.
