Romania, in the grip of extreme weather
While the south of Romania was in the grip of extreme heat on Tuesday, the storms wreaked havoc in the west, north and centre.
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Roxana Vasile, 26.07.2023, 14:00
In Romania, July, the hottest month of summer, is also called the “Oven” month, a name that has never seemed more suitable than this year. After a few episodic heat waves that have already passed, the south of the country was under a red code alert for heat on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching in some areas 42 degrees Celsius in the shade. Tuesday was also the hottest day this year, according to meteorologists, who also issued orange and yellow alerts for Tuesday. A night of thermal discomfort, for most of the country followed, with tropical temperatures that did not drop below 20 degrees.
Due to the heat wave, traffic restrictions were imposed on the roads for heavy vehicles. In the counties under red and orange code alerts, vehicles over 7.5 tons were banned from circulation between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., except for vehicles transporting passengers and perishable products. It was decided that the railway traffic will also operate under special conditions in the south, including in the Bucharest area, in the west, east and southeast. The speed of the trains was reduced by up to 30 km/h compared to the normal one on the segments with the temperature, at rail level, of at least 50 degrees Celsius. According to meteorologists the weather will cool down as of Thursday, with maximum air temperatures not exceeding 29 degrees.
Raul Ilea, with the National Meteorological Administration: „Its a fairly rapid air mass change which rarely occurs during the summer. We have a big difference between this tropical air wave that has been dominating the south and south-eastern part of the continent for about 2-3 weeks and a mass of colder air coming from the north and centre. There is a difference of about 15-20 degrees Celsius between these air masses and the circulation helps change them, so that on Thursday and especially on Friday the air will be much cooler, which is very good because we need it after so many hot days. During the weekend temperatures will start going up again, but not as high as before. However, as of Saturday or Sunday we will talk about hot days again, with temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius in the southern part of the territory.”
On the other hand, in the west, north and centre of Romania, the wind blew, on Tuesday, with 70-80 km/h, and isolated even with over 90 km/h. There were frequent electric discharges and it rained heavily, exceeding 30-40 l/sqm. The storms brought down trees, while roofs fell on the parked cars. In Oradea, in the west, a storm of less than 10 minutes disrupted traffic. The roof of the University Library collapsed, after being badly damaged by the strong wind, while photovoltaic panels were projected onto the sidewalk. Tens of thousands of consumers were left without electricity. Powerful storms were also announced for Wednesday in most of the country, at the end of a hot day. (EE)
