Thunderstorms may break the heat on Wednesday. Thursday will be the hottest day of the week, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees. It will be cold again by the end of the week.
Warm days and tropical nights can be expected in large parts of Austria until the weekend. This means that during the day the temperature will be above 30 degrees and at night it will not cool down below 20 degrees. It puts a strain on the human body, and the elderly and children are especially at risk. Geological Austria said on Tuesday that thunderstorms will also be cold. Wolfgang Schreiber, chief physician of the Red Cross, advises drinking plenty of water and avoiding scorching sun.
It will be “in the middle of summer, but not forever,” said geometeorologist Sabrina Nuzik-Marth. already exists Wednesday Heat will be interrupted by thunderstorms. The risk of thunderstorms is lowest from the mountains in the south and southeast. In some places it won’t cool below 22 degrees overnight, with highs ranging from 27 to 36 degrees from west to east, and it will be very humid.
A remarkably cold weekend
Weather conditions are similar Thursday. Friday is expected to be the warmest day of the week in the east with temperatures up to 37 degrees. In the west it’s already cool to 25 to 29 degrees. Temperatures Freedag In the west, temperatures no longer exceed 30 degrees. However, in the east they rise to 37 degrees. In the evening from Vorarlberg to Waldviertel there will be heavy rain and thunderstorms, some of them strong.
I am Weekend The west-east divide continues with significantly colder temperatures in the west of the country. This front will then be across Austria, but according to the meteorologist, there is no sign of a prolonged cold front, at least in the east. The weather will be “probably mid-summer for an extended period, with perhaps a slight setback on Sunday”.
According to Geosphere’s data, the number of hot days with at least 30 degrees in Austria has increased several times over the last few decades. In the period from 1991 to 2020, Innsbruck already had 23 warm days in a year on average among state capitals – followed by Vienna and Eisenstadt with 21 – and Bregenz with nine. Records are mostly warm days over 40.
Innsbruck, St. Seven days of heat already in Pölten and Eisenstadt
This year there were seven warm days up to Monday in three state capitals (yesterday), namely Innsbruck, St. Paulden and Eisenstadt. Six so far in Vienna, Linz and Graz, and four in Salzburg and Klagenfurt and Bregenz, well below the long-term average, with the two hottest days so far, geoclimatologist Hans Resl said on Tuesday. This year, the earliest warm day in Austrian measuring history was recorded on April 7 in Bruck an der Mur, ten days ahead of the old record from 1934.
The lack of moisture and humidity and significant cooling at night puts extra stress on the body, but “basically it’s high temperature,” emphasized Wolfgang Schreiber, chief physician of the Austrian Red Cross (ÖRK). The body has mechanisms to react to heat and cold, but it reaches its limits during these days during tropical nights. It especially affects the elderly and the very young, “especially the elderly, because they have less body water,” it’s called in medicine, and they are often debilitated by previous illnesses. Older people and children tend to sweat less.
Hat and drink
“Older people, unless they can represent shopping, should only go out in the cool mornings,” Schreiber said. Men also often have less hair on their heads, and older women tend to have thinner hair, so a hat or sun hat is recommended. Headgear is very important for children, direct sunlight on the body should be completely avoided. In general, in extreme heat, everyone should avoid being in the sun for too long – and: “Adequate water – drink two to three liters throughout the day,” advises the emergency doctor, but no alcohol if possible.
According to a press release, the Red Cross is providing cooling centers in Vienna in the Millennium City and Shopping Center Nord (SCN). People can cool off on deck chairs in the air-conditioned rooms, and water is also available. Churches provide relief from heat stress, with average temperatures ten degrees lower than outside temperatures, Kathpress reported. It’s even colder in the catacombs and crypts with constant temperatures of ten to 19 degrees. The Austrian Transport Club (VCÖ) warned in a broadcast that parked cars can overheat in a matter of minutes on hot days. Allowing children or dogs to sit can be fatal. (APA/ed.)
