Western Europe bakes; United Kingdom, France, Italy and Iberian Peninsula on edge

Subject :Geography

Section: Climatology

Context:

Experts blame wind and atmospheric circulation and Arctic ice melt for the heatwave
It is a part of the global warming process. The worst was the 2003 heatwave when 40,000 people died
Heatwaves also happen due to large-scale atmospheric circulation related to Rossby waves.
Temp at North pole and antartica have been deviated from normal by 15 degree that has changed the wind direction.
These changes turned western Europe into “Heat Dome” a low pressure area that is attracting hot air from northern Africa.

Rossby Waves

The meandering jet streams are called Rossby Waves.
Rossby waves are natural phenomenon in the atmosphere and oceans due to rotation of earth.
In planetary atmospheres, they are due to the variation in the Coriolis effect (When temperature contrast is low, speed of jet stream is low, and Coriolis force is weak leading to meandering) with latitude.
Rossby waves are formed when polar air moves toward the Equator while tropical air is moving poleward.
The existence of these waves explains the low-pressure cells (cyclones) and high-pressure cells (anticyclones).