The heat arrived early in Austria this year, with May being unusually warm. If the forecasts are anything to go by, a hot summer is also on the cards. Anything else would come as a surprise, as the last cool summer was a long time ago. Given the climate crisis and steadily rising temperatures, the question is no longer whether summers will be hot, but just how hot they'll be.

It could turn out to be a dry, hot summer. The seasonal forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) paint a clear picture for June, July and August. Across large parts of Europe, temperatures are expected to be one or two degrees above the mean for the period 1993 to 2016.

Rainfall is also likely to be below normal. The potential consequences of this scenario for Europe are already easy to imagine: wildfires, water shortages and heat-related deaths during prolonged heatwaves.

Read the article at: orf.at