In the summer of 2003, at least 35,000 people died in western Europe as a result of the heatwave. It was the warmest for up to 500 years. Temperatures reached 32.2 °C.
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In April and May 2016, India experienced a major heat wave. A national record high temperature of 51.0 °C was set in the town of Phalodi.
In February, 2009 heat waves also affected Australia, claiming 173 lives in Victoria.
Heat waves occur in the sub-tropical landmasses during summer. Their physical feature is a large surface anticyclone. The contours of the anticyclone are in the shape of troughs-and-ridges (i.e. a wave form). The stable air mass subsidence within the anticyclone tends to cause a dry adiabatic-rate heating and extreme temperatures to occur in the surface area. Hence the term ‘heat wave’.
Unlike Cyclones, Anticyclones tend to move very slowly (causing droughts; bush fires; poor visibility; bronchitis inflammation; dehydration; and air pollution). Not all heat waves are a natural disaster. Deadly heat waves occur very rarely.
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