Europeans seek shade as heatwave grips much of the continent
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Greece introduced emergency measures for workers, and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit popsicles, as a deadly heatwave grips large parts of Mediterranean Europe with temperatures forecast to break all-time records.
The Cerberus heatwave is set to get worse over the weekend with the mercury expected reach as high as 45C in parts of Greece, Spain and Italy.
The Greek government has changed hours for workers to avoid the midday heat, as temperatures could top 44C there in the days to come.
Spain is expected to see 45C over the weekend with satellite data from the European space agency showing ground temperatures, which are different from air temperatures, reaching 60C.
The heatwaves have already turned deadly as a 44-year-old painter in Italy collapsed and died in 40C heat on Tuesday, prompting more widespread health warnings.
The scorching heat is being driven by rising global temperatures due to the climate crisis, as well as El Nino – a cyclic climate pattern which makes many places a lot hotter.
There is also extreme heat in the US, and you can follow the blog for that here.
European Space Agency releases heat map as Europe braces for sweltering month
As temperatures are expected to reach 48C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, the European Space Agency has released a map depicting the land surface temperature across Europe.
On 10 July, temperatures hit 42C in Milan, 46C in Rome and Madrid and highs of 47C in Seville, characterised by the sea of red sweeping the continent.
Following last year’s summer heatwave across Europe, more than 60,000 people died, with Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal experiencing the highest mortality rates.
This summer, The Red Cross has urged locals and tourists alike to be cautious and look out for those who are most vulnerable.
“Climate warming amplified this year by El Niño severely affects food production, water availability as well as our health. To properly adapt to these changes we need timely information at actionable resolution which the Copernicus programme is providing with Sentinel-3 and soon with the Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission at 50 m resolution,” Benjamin Koetz, Mission Scientist of the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission, explained.
Map released by European Space Agency shows land surface temperature across Europe on 10 July 2023
Cerberus heatwave: Why UK weather is wet and windy as Europe swelters
As the UK gets prolonged showers – the Met Office predicts unsettled conditions to continue for the next few days – the Mediterranean region grapples with soaring heat that could touch a new European record as soon as this week.
Temperatures are expected to go beyond 40C in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey in the next few days.
And in Italy, they could go up to a searing 48.8C, predicted the country’s weather agency, as Wednesday temperatures there stood at 40C again and prompted a red alert warning for 10 cities, including Rome and Florence.
In pictures: Wildfires tear through Croatia’s coastal towns
Towns in Croatia were evacuated on Thursday after wildfires tore through the country as a result of the Cerberus heatwave.
Pictures show volunteers trying to put out the blaze in teh coastal town, Grebastica.
Tourists struggle to stay cool in Athens as temperatures soar
Tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit popsicles Thursday as southern Europeans suffered through a heat wave that was projected to get much worse heading into the weekend.
Temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were forecast to reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) starting Friday.
The high-pressure system affecting the region, which crossed the Mediterranean from north Africa, has been named Cerberus after the three-headed dog in ancient Greek mythology who guarded the gates to the underworld.
Officials in several countries were preparing emergency measures, cellphone alerts and adjustments to staffing levels.
In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours were changed for the public sector and many businesses to avoid the midday heat, while air-conditioned areas were opened to the public.
Cerberus is being tracked by the European Space Agency, which warned that the heat wave will also be felt in parts of northern Europe.
“Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heat wave, with temperatures expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia - potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe” the agency said Thursday.
People cool off from a water spray device amid high temperatures in Athen
UK weather: Met Office issues two yellow warnings as Britons brace for ‘unusual’ winds
Parts of the UK are under yellow weather warnings as “unseasonal” heavy gusts of winds are expected to bring disruptive weather over the weekend after days of heavy showers.
The first is for heavy winds bringing “potential disruption” to South Wales and southwest England, which starts on Friday morning and will last till evening 7pm. The second warning covers the eastern parts of England which is set to have an “unseasonably windy day” throughout Saturday.
“Two yellow National Severe Weather Warnings for wind have been issued highlighting the potential for impacts such as travel disruption to South Wales and southwest England on Friday and the south and east of England on Saturday,” the forecaster said on Thursday.
How Europe's heatwaves can get extremely deadly
The sweltering temperatures in Europe threaten a repeat of last year's extended heatwave, when the continent experienced its hottest summer on record.
Those temperatures led to an onslaught of devastating droughts and raging forest fires, and were driven by the human-induced climate crisis.
This year, the world has heated up more and El Nino – a cyclical phenomenon – is driving more heat across the world.
Last year the extreme heatwaves contributed to more than 60,000 deaths in Europe in 2022, according to a new report – a number much higher than previous estimates.
Here's what the report found:
'It's like being in Africa': Tourists describe sweltering heat in Europe
Tourists visiting the Mediterranean are shocked at the sweltering temperatures.
"It's like being in Africa," a 24-year-old tourist Balint Jolan, from Hungary, told The Associated Press. "It's not that much hotter than it is currently at home, but yes, it is difficult."
Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heat wave, with temperatures expected to climb to 48C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.
The heat has prompted health alerts and advisories for tourists with one British citizen fainting in Rome earlier this week. A 44-year-old man was also reported dead in Italy.
Temperatures to reach 45C today in Southern Europe
Temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were forecast to reach as high as 45C from today as a sweltering heatwave takes over the continent sparking health concerns.
Officials in several countries were preparing emergency measures, cell phone alerts and adjustments to staffing levels.
Weather maps from private forecaster AccuWeather show Spain hitting 37C on Friday morning with worsened conditions expected over the weekend.
Very high temperatures in central and southern Italy are also predicted for Friday, when the capital could see record-breaking temperatures between 40 and 45C.
Scorching earth, from Balkans to Spain
Health authorities issued a top, red alert warning for 10 Italian cities for the next two days, including Rome, Florence, Bologna and Perugia.
In Greece, the government has ordered the suspension of work between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. local (0900-1400 GMT) in areas where the risk from heat is very high, and also requested remote work for private sector employees with health conditions.
In the Balkans, beachgoers in the Croatian town of Nin smeared themselves in its medicinal local mud to protect themselves from the sun while 56 firefighters with 20 vehicles and three aircraft struggled to contain a brush fire near the Adriatic town of Sibenik.
Cloke said that the current heatwave was caused by hot air coming up from the Sahara, with the air mass then becoming lodged across parts of Europe.
Images captured by the ESA’s Sentinel 3 satellites had measured the land surface temperature at more than 60 Celsius in the western Spanish region of Extremadura on Tuesday.
Weather forecasts and official records are based on the air temperature which is significantly lower than the land surface reading. The record European temperature of 48.8C was registered in Sicily in August 2021 and that figure could be exceeded.
“Next week there will be an even stronger heatwave than this one, some values in the central south will be really freaky,” said Luca Lombroso, meteorologist from the AMPRO group in Italy.
“Between Tuesday and Wednesday in Rome and Florence we will probably exceed 40 degrees, which will also be approached in the north,” he added.
Animals are also feeling the strain.
Italian farmers’ lobby group Coldiretti said milk production was down by around 10% because cows eat less in the heat, drink huge quantities of water and make less milk.
A heatwave with temperatures of 40C hit North Macedonia
UK must adapt its buildings for higher temperatures, say scientists
The UK is one of the countries that will have to adapt the most radically to cool down buildings as climate change drives up the global average temperature, according to a new study.
Like other countries in Northern Europe, such as Ireland, Switzerland and those in Scandinavia, homes were built to retain heat during cold winters.
But rising temperatures because of climate change means more unwanted heat during the summer, which can be fatal for older and more vulnerable people.
Danny Halpin reports:
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL2hlYXR3YXZlLWluLWV1cm9wZS1ncmVlY2Utd2VhdGhlci1tYXAtY2VyYmVydXMtYjIzNzUxNDYuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5
2023-07-14 08:49:45Z
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