London: The heat dome phenomenon is being identified as a major contributor to the extreme heat currently impacting many European countries, including France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. This climatic occurrence, characterized by a strong, high-pressure system that remains stationary over an area, acts like a "lid," trapping and compressing hot air and causing a rapid and sustained increase in surface temperatures.

According to Thai News Agency, the origin of a heat dome is linked to the jet stream-a band of strong winds at high altitudes-bending or pushing northward, resulting in a stagnant weather system. This high-pressure system forces air to sink, compressing it and raising its temperature. The lack of cloud cover allows sunlight to directly heat the Earth's surface, causing the ground to accumulate heat. As the ground radiates heat back into the atmosphere, the high-pressure system pushes it back down, intensifying the heat within the "dome."

Meteorologists note that the heat dome is the primary cause of the severe heatwave currently enveloping Europe. The formation of a stable high-pressure system, known as an "omega block" due to its Greek letter O shape, blocks cooler air and rain from the Atlantic, resulting in prolonged dry and hot conditions. This system draws extremely hot air from North Africa and the Sahara Desert into Europe, causing temperatures to soar 10-18 degrees Celsius above the average, reaching 40-44 degrees Celsius in many areas-unusual figures for Europe, especially in early summer.

This phenomenon not only traps heat during the day but also prevents cooling at night, with nighttime temperatures averaging 21-25 degrees Celsius. Such conditions pose serious health risks as they offer little respite for the human body to recover or dissipate heat.

While heat domes are natural occurrences, climate experts stress that climate change has altered global temperature baselines, making heat domes more frequent, severe, and prolonged. This serves as a stark indication of climate change largely driven by human activities.