This puts a strain on the human body, and older people and children are particularly at risk. But thunderstorms also provide cooling, Geosphere Austria said on Tuesday in response to an inquiry. Red Cross chief physician Wolfgang Schreiber advises drinking plenty of water and avoiding the blazing sun.
Midsummer, but not consistent
It will be “high summer, but not consistent,” said Geosphere meteorologist Sabrina Nujic-Marth. The heat might be interrupted by thunderstorms as early as Wednesday. The risk of thunderstorms is lowest in the south and southeast, away from the mountains. In some places it will not cool down below 22 degrees overnight, with maximum temperatures from west to east ranging between 27 and 36 degrees, and it will also be quite humid.
Up to 37 degrees in the east
The weather situation on Thursday is similar. Friday is expected to be the hottest day of the week in the east with temperatures reaching up to 37 degrees. In the west, temperatures will already cool down, with highs of 25 to around 29 degrees. The east-west gradient will continue at the weekend, with even cooler temperatures in the west of the country. This front will then be across Austria, but according to the meteorologist, there is no sign of any sustained cooling, at least in the east. The weather will probably remain “on the high summer side in the longer term, possibly with a brief dip on Sunday.”
The number of hot days with temperatures of at least 30 degrees has multiplied in Austria in recent decades, according to data from Geosphere. In the period from 1991 to 2020, an average year in the state capitals saw between 23 hot days in Innsbruck – followed by Vienna and Eisenstadt with 21 – and nine in Bregenz. The records are mostly more than 40 hot days.
So far six hot days in Linz
Up to Monday (yesterday), there were seven hot days in three state capitals this year, namely in Innsbruck, St. Pölten and Eisenstadt. In Vienna, Linz and Graz there were six so far, in Salzburg and Klagenfurt four and in Bregenz, in line with the long-term average, the fewest with two hot days so far, reported Geosphere climatologist Hans Ressl on Tuesday. On April 7, the earliest hot day in Austrian measurement history was recorded in Bruck an der Mur, ten days before the old record from 1934.
Humidity and humidity, as well as the lack of significant cooling at night, put additional strain on the body, but “basically it is the high temperatures,” stressed Wolfgang Schreiber, chief physician of the Austrian Red Cross (ÖRK). The body does have mechanisms to react to heat and cold, but on these days with tropical nights it reaches its limits. This affects the elderly and the very young in particular, “especially the elderly, because they have less body water available,” as the medical term goes, and because they are often more fragile due to previous illnesses. Seniors and children also sweat less.
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What doctors recommend now
“If older people cannot delegate shopping, they should only go out in the morning when it is cooler,” said Schreiber. Men also often have less hair on their heads, and older women also have thinner hair, so a cap or sun hat is advisable. Head coverings are also important for children, and very young children should avoid direct sunlight on their bodies. In general, everyone should avoid being in the blazing sun for too long when it is very hot – and: “drink plenty of water – two to three liters throughout the day,” advises the emergency doctor, but avoid alcohol if possible.
Cooling Center in Wien
According to a press release, the Red Cross offers cooling centers in Vienna, for example in the Millennium City and in the Shopping Center Nord (SCN). People can cool off on deck chairs in air-conditioned rooms, and water is also available. There is also relief from heat stress in churches, with temperatures on average ten degrees below the outside temperature, reported Kathpress. It is even cooler in the catacombs and crypts, with temperatures remaining constant between around ten and 19 degrees. The Austrian Transport Club (VCÖ) warned in a press release that parked cars heat up massively within a few minutes on warm days. Leaving children or dogs sitting in them is life-threatening.
