Venice, Italy – Southern Europe is currently grappling with an intense heatwave, prompting warnings that record-breaking temperatures could be reached across the continent next week. The soaring heat raises concerns about the well-being of individuals, agricultural crops, and wildlife.
Weather alerts have been issued for Spain’s Canary Islands, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece, with Greek authorities anticipating temperatures as high as 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) or even 44 degrees Celsius on Friday or Saturday, reports Reuters.
As a precautionary measure, an ambulance has been stationed near the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens to provide immediate assistance to tourists affected by the scorching heatwave, dubbed “Cerberus” by Italy’s Meteorological Society.
The European Space Agency (ESA), utilizing satellite monitoring of land and sea temperatures, has warned that July could be an extremely torrid month. The ESA stated, “Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially surpassing the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.”
The devastating impact of extreme summer heat has been underscored by recent research indicating that as many as 61,000 lives may have been lost during Europe’s scorching heatwaves last summer.
Land temperatures in Spain surpass 60C as deadly heatwave sweeps Europehttps://t.co/MNr8UrRdQg
— The Independent (@Independent) July 13, 2023
Governments and employers face mounting pressure to enhance measures protecting workers exposed to the blistering sun during this heatwave, which draws its name from Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology guarding the underworld.
There are growing concerns about the well-being of individuals working outdoors in Italy, following the tragic death of a 44-year-old man who collapsed while painting road markings in the northern town of Lodi earlier this week.
“Heat is a silent killer. So this is the main concern that people’s lives are at risk,” cautioned climate scientist Hannah Cloke, a professor at Reading University in England. She further added, “Certainly, we should immediately stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” emphasizing that certain climate changes are already irreversible.
Blazings Across the Balkans to Spain
Health authorities have issued top-level red alerts for ten Italian cities over the next two days, including Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Perugia.
In Greece, the government has mandated a suspension of work from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time (0900-1400 GMT) in areas with a very high heat risk. Additionally, private sector employees with health conditions have been encouraged to work remotely.
In the Balkans, beachgoers in the Croatian town of Nin have resorted to applying medicinal local mud as protection against the scorching sun, while 56 firefighters, with the assistance of 20 vehicles and three aircraft, battle to contain a brush fire near the Adriatic town of Sibenik.
Cloke explained that the current heatwave is a result of hot air from the Sahara ascending and becoming trapped across parts of Europe.
The ESA’s Sentinel 3 satellites have captured images indicating land surface temperatures exceeding 60 degrees Celsius in Spain’s western region of Extremadura on Tuesday.
It is important to note that weather forecasts and official records are based on air temperature, which is significantly lower than land surface readings. The record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe stands at 48.8 degrees Celsius, registered in Sicily in August 2021, a figure that could potentially be surpassed.
“Next week, we can expect an even more intense heatwave than the current one, with some values in the central south reaching extreme levels,” warned Luca Lombroso, a meteorologist from the AMPRO group in Italy. He added, “Between Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures in Rome and Florence will likely exceed 40 degrees Celsius, which will also be approached in the northern regions.”
Animals are also enduring the strain of the heatwave. Coldiretti, an Italian farmers’ lobby group, reported a decrease of approximately 10% in milk production due to cows eating less, consuming larger volumes of water, and producing less milk.
