Heatwave record broken at an altitude of over 3.1 miles in the Alps.

[Tonk]

Zero degrees at an altitude of over 5,000 metres in the Alps

A new heat record has been broken in the Alps, according to the weather service Météo Alpes. On Saturday, the limit for when the temperature in the air reaches zero degrees was 5,136 meters, according to a weather balloon measurement in Payerne, Switzerland.

Météo Alpes writes that it is the first time since measurements began that zero degrees have been measured at an altitude of over 5,000 meters in a month of June.

This is higher than the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest point in Western Europe. Yesterday, an unusual 1.4 degrees Celsius was measured there at an altitude of 4,750 meters, writes TT.

When temperatures rise, the potential for rockslides increases due to the thawing of permafrost.

Mind-boggling aerosol yesterday night at 5:04 pm following a massive rock avalanche starting at Col de la Gurraz (3160 m) on Mont Pourri (3779 m, Vanoise Massif) north face and travelling the Turia Glacier 😱❄️🧊

Credit Severin Marchand via Xavier Cailhol

— Melaine Le Roy (@subfossilguy.bsky.social) 2024-11-18T11:54:09.737Z

The Gurraz Rock Avalanche (Vanoise) last sunday is the largest event having affected the French Alps since the Etache 2020 event (described here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...)

... but it is at least 3 times larger !
First estimate are ~700,000 m3

(source L. Ravanel)

— Melaine Le Roy (@subfossilguy.bsky.social) 2024-11-20T10:41:30.426Z

Heat dome brings the most intense heatwave of the year into western Europe. France up to 43 celsius next week.

— Climate News (@climatenews.bsky.social) 2025-06-29T07:29:47.632Z

Sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean are currently 3°C higher than average for the same period compared to 1991-2020, with spikes exceeding 4°C around the French and Spanish coast, reported a French weather service.

Stark contrast between the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean sea surface temperatures (SSTs).

While the SSTs in the Baltic Sea are of course naturally cooler than in the Mediterranean, the ongoing weather pattern has further amplified this contrast.

— Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane.bsky.social) 2025-06-30T14:28:11.828Z

Is global warming accelerating? Over at The Climate Brink I argue that the consilience of evidence from surface temperatures, climate models, forcing changes, ocean heat content, and earth energy imbalance all point toward yes: www.theclimatebrink....

— Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath.bsky.social) 2025-06-30T17:06:15.000Z

What is a 'heat dome' and how does it power heatwaves? reut.rs/44IhOqQ

— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-06-30T16:15:14Z

Intense, short-lived summer downpours are expected to become both more frequent and more intense across Alpine regions as the climate warms. In a new study, scientists from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the University of Padova analyzed data from nearly 300 mountain weather stations and found that a 2°C rise in regional temperature could double the frequency of these extreme events.

[hatrack]

1. Wow, if only there'd been a way we could have predicted events like these!!

If only there had been some sort of warnings!!

[NNadir]

2. All over the world, notably in Asia, these sort of events...

...will have very profound effects on the world water supply.

[hatrack]

3. Mekong, Salween, Indus, Ganges, Yangtze . . .

And that's just for starters.