Freak weather chaos across Europe
Most of central Europe is struggling to cope with searing heat, floods, snow, gale force winds and storms in what so far has been the “summer from hell”.
Austria has been particularly badly hit, with July snow falls covering valleys normally basking in sunshine at this time of year.
The city of Graz was declared a disaster zone after torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks and flood houses and businesses. Just hours before, residents in Austria’s second city were basking in sunshine and temperatures of 30C.
Because of the freak weather, a 71-year-old mountain climber was killed in the Austrian Alps and several people are missing.
Last month, the capital city, Vienna, had its heaviest rain in half a century.
There were gale force winds in Poland, less severe than the tornado that hit parts of the country last year, but still strong enough to knock down trees and power lines and take roofs off houses.
Strong winds also caused havoc on the Adriatic, in Croatia and Italy, and made the work of bushfire fighters difficult in heat-hit Spain.
Parts of Germany have been affected by rain and hail. A landslide in Saxony-Anhalt swept away at least one house, killing three people, and dozens of others were evacuated.
Earlier this month, heavy storms in the Stuttgart region left two dead and many injured. Bad weather and speeding were blamed last week for the worst accident in Germany’s autobahn history, with a pile-up of 260 cars near Hanover leaving dozens injured, 10 critically.
But not everyone is unhappy. Several ski resorts normally closed at this time of year are doing excellent business across Europe.
Weather experts warn the developing natural global weather cycle, El Nino, will exacerbate the situation over the next 12 months.
