Heat-stricken Europe braces for new heatstroke

The countries of Southern Europe are preparing for the second heat storm in a week. Residents in Italy, Greece and Spain, as well as Morocco and other Mediterranean countries, were told that temperature records could be broken on Tuesday.

A new anticyclone that swept into the region from North Africa on Sunday could push temperatures above the record 48.8°C seen in Sicily in August 2021 and follow last week’s Cerberus heat wave.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said next week could bring the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe, as a result of a heatwave named Charon after the Greek mythological boatman who ferries souls to the underworld.

The human-caused climate crisis is exacerbating extreme weather around the world, leading to more frequent and deadly disasters, from heat waves to floods and wildfires, according to The Guardian.

On Monday, the World Meteorological Organization said the first few days of July saw the world’s hottest days on record, after June, which was ESA’s hottest on record.

A study recently published in the journal Nature Medicine says more than 60,000 people have died due to last year’s summer heat across Europe, with the highest death rates in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal.

It was a heat wave in Italy on Sunday due to exceptionally high temperatures and humidity – and the forecast is that the situation will intensify with the arrival of another anticyclone on Monday, which will raise temperatures to possible highs of 47°C in the southern regions of Sardinia and 45°C or 46°C in parts of Apulia and Sicily.

The temperature in Rome, which is crowded with tourists, on Tuesday can rise to 42-43 degrees Celsius. Sixteen Italian cities, including Rome, Florence, Bologna, Bari, Cagliari and Palermo, have been placed on “red alert” by the health ministry, meaning the heat is so severe that it threatens the health of the entire population.

Nighttime temperatures remain above 20 degrees Celsius, making it difficult for people to sleep.

Italy is one of the European countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with more than 50 deaths in the past 13 months as a result of extreme weather events.

Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society, said there was “no doubt” that heatwaves were linked to global warming.

“It’s much easier to link a heat wave to global warming than, say, a flood,” Mercalli added. – Floods have a climate change component, but we do not know to what extent, and therefore it is more delicate to say that the flood is caused by the climate crisis. On the contrary, with regard to heat, there is no doubt – it is the most direct phenomenon that we can perceive.

The ESA said: “Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are facing extreme heat, with temperatures expected to rise to 48 degrees Celsius in the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.”

Morocco is among the North African countries expected to experience above-average temperatures, with some provinces recording highs of 47 degrees Celsius this weekend, more common in August than July, raising water scarcity concerns, the meteorological service said. .

On the Canarian island of La Palma, more than 4,000 people were evacuated from their homes after a wildfire engulfed the island’s northwest.

The regional government said on Sunday that it had placed neighboring islands, including Tenerife and Gran Canaria, on high alert due to the risk of wildfires, with 4,500 hectares of land and a dozen homes already destroyed in La Palma.

“The fire spread very quickly,” said Fernando Clavijo, President of the Regional Government of the Canary Islands. He blamed “wind, climatic conditions, and also the heat in which we live” for the rapid spread of the fire.

In Greece, due to the scorching heat, the Acropolis was temporarily closed from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm to protect tourists from dangerous temperatures, the risk of dehydration and sunstroke.

The winds provided some respite and temperatures dropped as much as 4 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.

But lead forecaster Sakis Arnautoglu warned the break would be short-lived and predicted the mercury column would rise “above 41C” from Thursday for six straight days.

The emergence of winds of magnitude seven on the Beaufort scale will certainly reduce temperatures in the coming days, meteorologists said, but they also raised concerns about wildfires fueling land scorched by intense heat.

“After the heat wave and the dryness it caused, we have strong, dry winds that increase the risk of fires,” said Greek Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias. “And if that wasn’t enough, when the winds die down, we’ll have heat again… We’re in the worst and most difficult climate for fires.”

Relentless temperatures are also being felt in the US, where grueling weekend conditions have seen more than a third of Americans on extreme heat alerts.

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) said a heat wave stretching from California to Texas is expected to peak during an “extremely hot and dangerous weekend.”

Often ranked among the hottest places on Earth, Death Valley National Park was expected to equal or surpass its temperature record of 54.4 degrees Celsius. Las Vegas could experience a high temperature of 46 degrees Celsius for three days in a row, which has previously happened only once, according to NWS. Phoenix, which has endured temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius for two weeks with little relief in the evening hours, was expecting the hottest weekend of the year.

Southern California is battling numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 3,000 hectares and evacuation orders have been issued. Farther north, the Canadian government said bushfires have burned a record 10 million hectares this year and more damage is expected.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked on CNN about the global response to the climate crisis and whether it’s time for the UN to stop labeling China as a developing country when it comes to cutting emissions.

Jake Sullivan said U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, during his trip to Beijing, which began on Sunday, will stress that they have “more work to do on this front” and that “every country, including China, has a responsibility to reduce emissions,” and China should be encouraged to do so. “take much more dramatic action.”

Japan issued heatstroke warnings to tens of millions of people in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record high temperatures scorched vast areas and heavy rains hit other regions.

“Every time we go somewhere, it feels like it’s a heat wave or a rare weather disaster,” said Anthony Fernandez, a Texas tourist based in Tokyo. “It’s becoming something of a new normal… Climate change is a big concern.”

The Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the heat was life-threatening, with about 40 degrees of heat recorded in the capital and other places. Japan’s highest ever temperature of 41.1°C, recorded in the city of Kumagaya in 2018, could be beaten, according to the meteorological agency.

On Saturday, some places experienced the highest temperatures in more than four decades, including Hirono in Fukushima Prefecture of 37.3°C.

Climate change service Copernicus reported that June 2023 was just over 0.5°C above the June 1991-2020 average, with unprecedented sea temperatures and record low sea ice levels in Antarctica.