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Heat Wave of 2010 in Eurasia Has Toppled Historic Records

Aug 3, 2010; 10:56 AM ET

ALL-TIME NATIONAL RECORDS HAVE YIELDED TO HEAT WAVES IN ASIA, EUROPE

Thanks to a tip from Mark Vogan, I have a Wikipedia link to the ongoing heat on the Eurasian continent.

Hints that it could be extraordinary were dropped in May, when untoward heat waxed over South Asia.

I was aware that Pakistan had its all-time high temperature, this being the 53.7 C (128.6 F) reached at Mohenjo-Daro, Sindh, on May 26. Amazingly, for me at least, this happened to be the highest temperature on record for all of Eurasia.

Another country of South Asia saw its national climate books rewritten. Myanmar (some know it as Burma) saw 47.0 C (116.6 F), which tops the old mark of 45.8 C set at Minbu, Magwe, in on May 9, 1998. The new mark was set on May 12 at Myinmu, Sagaing.

India also suffered extreme heat throughout May, but I am not aware of any outstanding individual readings.

HEAT BUILDS NORTH, WEST, IN JUNE

Mongolia, together with neighboring China and Russian Federation, has suffered waves of harsh heat since June. Late in June, blistering heat built over eastern Mongolia, far-northeastern China and nearby Siberian Russia.

The write-up as yet has no mention of specific records on the Mongolia and China sides of the line.

But Asian Russia, a vast land mass, got a new highest temperature on June 25, when Belogorsk, Amur, read 42.3 C, or 108.1 F.

Oddly, perhaps, Moscow and the Russian heartland, thousands of kilometres to the west, got their first sampling of severe heat during this same time in June.

Far to the south and west, blistering--and apparently all-time record--heat settled along the Khaleej, or Mideast Gulf, at mid-June.

It may not yet be official, but the 52.0 C, or 125.6 F, reached at Basra, Iraq, on June 14 would edge out, if confirmed, the 51.7 C reached in 1937 at Ash Shu'ayba.

Abdaly, Kuwait, registered 52.6 C, or 126.7 F, on June 15. If official, this reading would overtake the 51.9 C of July, 2007, reached at this same spot.

The tiny island nation of Bahrain, on the 20th, observed 46.9 C, said to be its highest June temperature on record. On the same day, Qatar had a reading of 48.8 C, specific location not being given.

Actually, our in-house database shows three days (June 18-20) of near-49 C heat at Doha airport.

The referenced article tells of 52.0 C, or 125.6 F, somewhere in Saudi Arabia, which is a vast stretch of land. The old mark was listed as 51.7 C.

AFRICA IN ON THE ACT

As Arabia sweltered, so did North Africa.

Chad, Niger and Sudan all apparently set highest-ever temperatures.

Faya, Chad, hit 47.6 C on June 22. Faya had set the old mark in 1961.

In Niger, the record of 1998 was broken on the 22nd when Bilma registered 47.1 C, but this record fell on the next day when a high of 48.2 C (118.8 F) was set.

Dongola, Sudan, read 49.6 C, or 121.3 F, on June 25. The old record was from 1987.

JULY SEES HEAT BUILD FURTHER

Elsewhere, I have already spoken as to the record-smashing heat of Moscow and European Russia, a heat wave that is still in full swing.

It is worthy, however, to state here that Russia, the greatest nation by land area, set its all-time national high on July 11. On this date, Yashkul, Kalmykia, read 44.0 C, or 111.2 F. Kalymkia held the old mark of 43.8 C, which was set on Aug. 6, 1940.

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Jim Andrews
The International weather blog from AccuWeather.com is written by Jim Andrews who has more than 10 years experience forecasting outside the United States.