Italian authorities have issued an “extreme” health risk for 16 cities including Rome and Florence this weekend as a heat wave that is baking Europe threatens to bring record temperatures.
Climate scientists at the European Space Agencysay temperatures could reach 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.
Rome could get as hot as 44 degrees Celsius.
Italian authorities have issued the second-highest heat warning to nine other cities.
The country’s health ministry is advising the public to stay hydrated, eat lighter meals and avoid direct sunlight between 11am and 6pm.
The ESA warned that Europe’s heat wave has only just begun with Spain, France, Germany and Poland expected to see extreme weather, just as the continent welcomes what is expected to be a record-breaking number of tourists coming for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greece shut the Acropolis of Athens for a second straight day yesterday amid fierce temperatures.
Europe experienced the hottest summer ever recorded in 2022, which caused nearly 62,000 deaths between May 30 and September 4.
In most countries, women died at higher rates than men.
The current heat wave – named “Cerberus” by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante’s “Inferno” – has prompted further fears for people’s health, especially as it coincides with one of the busiest periods of Europe’s summer tourist season.
Europe is not the only place facing extreme temperatures.
A dangerous weekslong heat wave in parts of the western United States is set to worsen this weekend, with more than 90 million people under heat alerts.
The extreme weather is even taking affect in Australia, with Sydney experiencing unseasonably warm weather for its winter months, according to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology.
Source: CNN
