After more than a week of unusually cold temperatures across much of the continent, warmer air from North Africa is expected to spread into Western and Central Europe. Temperatures had dropped 10–15°C below seasonal averages, with frost damaging crops and vineyards in countries like France.
Meteorologists say Europe could now see a rapid temperature jump by the end of the week, with Spain and Portugal expected to reach around 30°C. In some areas, nighttime temperatures may become warmer than daytime highs recorded last week.
The recent cold wave also brought severe storms and around 750,000 lightning strikes across Europe between May 11 and May 16. Serbia issued red weather alerts for strong winds, heavy rain, and hail.
Experts warn that such sharp weather extremes are becoming more common as Europe continues warming faster than any other continent due to the climate crisis.
