When will Europe’s heatwave end? Experts predict end date and storms that could follow

After several days of ‘hellishly hot’ temperatures across southern Europe, people are looking for some respite from July’s heatwaves.

There’s little relief to be had in the very short term, with peaks of up to 43 degrees Celsius forecasted for parts of Italy and Greece today (18 July).

The extreme heat that has afflicted many southern and eastern countries this month is partly driven by a wave of hot air from north Africa.

Multiple people are reported to have died in Italy, and extreme heat-death warnings continue to be issued for countries from Portugal to Romania and Cyprus.

But the lethal heat is finally expected to abate for many places over the weekend and into next week. Here’s what the experts are predicting.

“It all has to do with a fairly persistent large-scale weather pattern,” explains Lars Lowinski, a meteorologist at the Weather & Radar weather service.

“Southern and eastern parts of Europe have been under what we call a high-pressure ridge [also known as a heat dome], basically a large area of high pressure with plenty of very warm air that does not move much.”

By contrast, low pressure areas with cooler and more changeable conditions have been dominating the picture closer to the Atlantic. Northern Europe has been spared the scorching heat due to the jet stream: a band of fast-moving air in the upper levels of the atmosphere which separates these two weather regimes. 

Where the two air masses meet - from southern France and the Alps up to the Baltic States - there have been several rounds of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms with large hail and high winds, Lowinski adds.

Temperatures have been around 6-12C above average values for the time of year, fuelling wildfires and requiring record power consumption. Some