I know there are a few Members from Europe, and I keep hearing about the heat wave, Record breaking Temps, and in Switzerland the mountains are melting. I am just curious.

Thanks,

AOD

Yeah, it's a little hot here, but don't worry about the mountains. They will still be here when we are all long gone. :D

Don't worry, it's not global warming. That is just an urban legend [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well, no it's just a very annoying drought that causes all these fires. There hasn't been any rain in a lot of countries for quite some time now, and this is the result. And in some cases humans set the forests on fire, like in France. An entire forest went up in flames, because of a fireman, who got frustrated when he got fired.

the heat wave is around 40C or around 100+F.. in europe.. thats hot.!

IMHO the unusual thing is not that we have peaks of 40°C but that the temperature stays hight the whole daz delivering still 30+°C at 10:00 PM
As for the forest fires it's like in the US or any other country during a heat wave. As long as it's dry the woods burn excellent and in the extreme heat they might even ignite themselves but if there is an arsinist it will burn faster and longer than normal.

Yeah, but in the south, like in Madrid it's even up to 50 Celsius. That's not normal anymore. The predictions for last night were rainshowers in the Netherlands, that would have given some relief, but i'm still waiting for them to come. :D

As a Swede, I enjoy a summer with no rain. But it did rain last night.

[ 08-12-2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

Temepratures in Milan today: 37°C, humidity 44%
Yeserday was the hottest day in the last 200 years, 39°C.

Luckily I'm something of a coold blooded animal, I am just slightly annoyed by the heat. Others are dying. Literally. 16 died today so far, mostly elderly, in Milan. 12 in Turin. It should rain on thursday or friday, and cool off the temperature by 4 or 5 degrees.

AS to the fires, they are under control here in Italy, barely. No wind, they cannot spread too much. And planes and helicopters do wonders. But the situation is serious.
Also, the estimates are that 90% of the fires have been lit by firebugs and people who want to get rid of those protected forests on their terrains so suitable for building... a law was passed to block building for 10 to 15 years on land scorched by fire, but it seems people think about long term "investments".

It's been 30c in the UK for most of last week, up to 35c which is unheard of.

No fires here though, just in Portugal and France as far as I know?.

Ahh stop complaining. We get those temperatures all the time! :D

Seriously though, I've seen heaps of footage on the news and read about it in the papers. The heatwaves sound bad, but what about the bushfires in Spain/Portugal!. Something like 30 people have died. :( And I thought the fires in Australia were bad. :(

[ 08-13-2003, 06:59 AM: Message edited by: GokuZool ]

They are bad. It just that we have such a sparse population compared to Europe, and it's part of our culture/lifestyle that bushfires happen.

Most people have some sort of preparation (in prone areas) and our emergency services are outstanding at responding.

I'm guessing that a lot of the affected Europeans aren't used to fires coming through every 3-4 years. Most unfortunately this results in greater loss of human life... :(

I'm not complaining my friend, it's great!, in fact I'm burning tyres as we speak to get some more damamge to the ozone layer. Global warming?. Bring it on!.