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A woman cools off with a mini fan in Rome July 14, 2023 amid a heatwave in Italy.
CNN –
Italian authorities have this weekend declared an “extreme” health risk for 15 cities, including Rome and Florence, as a heatwave sweeping Europe threatens to bring record temperatures.
Climate researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) say temperatures could reach 48C [118.4°F] on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia “potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe”.
Italy’s Health Ministry advises the public to stay hydrated between 11am and 6pm, eat lighter meals and avoid direct sunlight.
ESA warned that the heatwave has only just begun in Europe and extreme weather events are also expected in Spain, France, Germany and Poland, while the continent is welcoming an influx of tourists.
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A woman in Rome drinks water near the Roman Forum.
Guglielmo Mangiapne/Portal
A man cools off by a fountain in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo.
Because of the high temperatures, Greece closed the Acropolis of Athens for the second time in a row on Saturday. Local police on Friday helped a tourist who got into trouble.
There is particular concern for those working outdoors after a 44-year-old construction worker in Italy died earlier in the week after collapsing on the side of the road.
Authorities in Spain warned that as well as hitting the usual frying pan areas in the south, the heatwave is also affecting the country’s normally cooler north.
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In the south, temperatures have reached 40 degrees Celsius in the cities of Seville, Cordoba and Granada.
According to the Spanish weather service, it is also sizzling on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean with maximum temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius.
In the meantime, even in the normally mild region of Navarre in the north, temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius.
Heat is one of the deadliest natural hazards – last year more than 61,000 people died in Europe’s scorching summer heatwave.
The current heatwave – dubbed “Cerberus” by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster from Dante’s “Inferno” – has sparked further fears for people’s health, especially as it coincides with one of Europe’s busiest summer tourism season.