Current:Home > InvestItaly told to brace for "most intense heat wave" ever, as Europe expected to see record temperatures -GrowthInsight
Italy told to brace for "most intense heat wave" ever, as Europe expected to see record temperatures
View
Date:2025-04-13 01:21:52
Rome — Temperatures reached new highs on Monday as heat waves scorched parts of the Northern Hemisphere, triggering health warnings and fanning wildfires in the latest stark reminder of the effects of global warming. From North America to Europe and Asia, people gulped water and sought shelter from the sweltering heat, with the mercury expected to reach new highs in several places in the next few days.
Europe, the globe's fastest-warming continent, was bracing for its hottest-ever temperature this week on Italy's islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where a high of 118 degrees Fahrenheit is predicted, according to the European Space Agency.
"We're from Texas and it's really hot there, we thought we would escape the heat but it's even hotter here," Colman Peavy, 30, said as he sipped a cappuccino at an outside terrasse in central Rome with his wife Ana at the start of a two-week Italian vacation.
With June already having been the world's hottest on record and the first week of July also setting a global record, according to the EU weather monitoring service, Mother Nature seemed intent on July not falling far behind.
Authorities started issuing warnings about significant health risks last week, primarily in Spain, where temperatures may soon reach a staggering 113 degrees in some regions.
- Study: Record-setting 2022 summer temps killed more than 61,000 in Europe
In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 104 degrees through Thursday, a 90-year-old man died as a result of heatstroke and three other seniors were hospitalized, health officials said. Italians were warned to prepare for "the most intense heat wave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time," with the health ministry sounding a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.
Temperatures were due to climb as high as 110 degrees in Rome on Tuesday, smashing the record of 105 degrees set in August 2007. Nevertheless, visitors thronged to tourist hot spots like the Colosseum and the Vatican.
"I'm from South Africa. We're used to this heat," said Jacob Vreunissen, 60, a civil engineer from Cape Town. "You have to drink lots of water, obviously, wear your hat, and that's about it."
Greece got some respite on Monday, as temperatures eased a bit and the Acropolis in Athens resumed its regular opening hours after shutting for a few hours during the previous three days.
But a new heat wave was expected from Thursday and authorities on Monday ordered several seaside resorts evacuated as a precaution after a wildfire broke out in Kouvaras, 31 miles east of Athens.
"It's a difficult fire, the winds are really strong," said firefighters spokesman Yannis Artopios as seven water planes, four helicopters and 150 firefighters battled the blaze.
In Romania, temperatures were expected to reach 102 degrees on Monday across most of the country.
Little reprieve was forecast for Spain, where meteorologists warned of expected "abnormally high" temperatures Monday, including up to 111 degrees in the southern Andalusia region in what would be a new regional record.
- In:
- Travel
- Climate Change
- Italy
- Severe Weather
- Greece
- Spain
- European Union
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Alaska flights canceled due to ash cloud from Russian volcano eruption
- Is The Future Of The Internet In The Metaverse?
- Researchers share drone footage of what it's like inside Hurricane Sam
- Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
- Building the Jaw-Dropping World of The Last of Us: How the Video Game Came to Life on HBO
- People are talking about Web3. Is it the Internet of the future or just a buzzword?
- Before Dying, An Unvaccinated TikTok User Begged Others Not to Repeat Her Mistake
- Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
- U.S. border officials record 25% jump in migrant crossings in March amid concerns of larger influx
Ranking
- Louisiana high court temporarily removes Judge Eboni Johnson Rose from Baton Rouge bench amid probe
- Erika Hamden: What does it take to send a telescope into the stratosphere?
- Below Deck's Tyler Walker Shares Difficult Experience of Finally Coming Out to His Parents
- TikTokers Are Trading Stocks By Copying What Members Of Congress Do
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Spanish athlete emerges from cave after spending really amazing 500 days underground
- Oscars 2023: Everything You Didn't See on TV
- Mindy Kaling Turns Heads With White-Hot Dress on Oscars 2023 Red Carpet
Recommendation
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
4 takeaways from the Senate child safety hearing with YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok
Researchers share drone footage of what it's like inside Hurricane Sam
Apple fires #AppleToo leader as part of leak probe. She says it's retaliation
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
How Jimmy Kimmel Addressed Will Smith's Oscars Slap During 2023 Ceremony
You can now ask Google to scrub images of minors from its search results
Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island push for union vote