European Heatwave Impacts the Alps & Pyrenees
23rd July 2023
Last modified on July 29th, 2023
The high temperatures are taking their toll on the glaciers with record-breaking summer temperatures in parts of the mountains. Some people are heading to the hills to keep cool. UPDATED
The French ski resort of Alpe d’Huez saw the mercury hit 29.5C this week at resort level.
That’s 85F.
The resort is at 1,860m.
🌡️ En ce mardi, plusieurs records de températures max dépassés, en particulier dans le Sud-Est.
C’est le cas notamment :
➡️à l’Alpe d’Huez (Isère), avec 29.5 °C (1860m)
➡️à Renno (Corse), avec 38,3 °(755m)
➡️à Aups (Var), avec 38,6 °C (497m)(Valeurs provisoires 17h)#canicule pic.twitter.com/yRhlSXLb4G
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) July 18, 2023
In nearby Serre Chevalier and Puy-St-Vincent it has been 30C, with 29C recorded at Briancon.
It is similar in other ski resorts in the Alps.
- Chamonix – 27C
- Engelberg – 25C
- Fieberbrunn – 28C
- Kitzbuel – 29C
- Verbier – 23C
In the highest resort in the Alps, Val Thorens that sits at 2,300m, it is 18C.
In some of the glacier areas currently open for summer skiing it is 19C in Tignes and 23C in Zermatt.
Over in the Pyrenees there are also some high summer temperatures in the ski resorts:
- Arinsal – 24C
- Aix-2-Domaines – 23C
- El Tartar – 25C
- Formigal – 25C
- Soldeu – 24C
Verdun in the foothills of the Pyrenees saw the temperature hit a high of 40.6C.
It was the highest temperature ever recorded in the area.
There have already been some forest fires burning in the Alps on the tinder dry ground.
We have reported here:
With a heatwave across southern Europe some people are reported to be heading to the mountains for their holidays in search of cooler temperatures.
This year Mediterranean destinations have seen a 10% drop in visitors according to a report published by the European Travel Commission.
It says it is due to travellers seeking out less crowded destinations, and milder temperatures.
7.6% of people said that worries about climate crisis and rising temperatures are now a factor when making travel plans.
The Spanish hoteliers’ association says there is an increase in visitors to the country’s cooler northern regions, including the Pyrenees.
Some mountain areas are now pushing their summer attractions:
Mountain lakes in Austria. Image © PlanetSKI
The heat has damaged the glaciers that are currently open for summer skiing.
PlanetSKI was skiing in Hintertux in the Tirol in Austria last month:
Hintertux in the summer. Image © PlanetSKI
Other areas that are open include Saas-Fee in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy.
Last summer the melting of the glaciers and warm temperatures caused many resorts to curtail their summer skiing and snowboarding.
We reported on it at the time on PlanetSKI.
Les2Alpes in France was forced to shut early.
Another French resort, Val d’Isere, didn’t even open its Pisaillas glacier area last summer.
Neighbouring Tignes shut early.
Zermatt in Switzerland, usually open year-round, also shut.
Then Fonna in Norway:
Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, according to the World Meteorological Organisation and the European Copernicus network.
The continent has been warming twice as much as the global average since the 1980s.
Here at PlanetSKI we’ll be updating this article as the weather develops across the summer so do check back.
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