The high pressure system that crossed the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa will bring temperatures of 45 degrees, in some places even higher. Authorities in several countries have prepared emergency measures, mobile phone alerts and personnel adjustments.
In Greece, the Acropolis was closed for five hours on Friday “to protect workers and tourists at the archaeological site”, said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. There “the temperature felt by the body (…) is considerably higher” than the temperatures of more than 40 degrees already measured in the city. On Friday, a tourist also suffered from heatstroke while visiting the Acropolis.
Southern Europe is groaning in the heat
Over the weekend, temperatures above 40 degrees are expected in Greece and Cyprus, but also in western Turkey.
As early as Thursday, the Red Cross was on duty at the foot of the 2,500-year-old monument to distribute up to 30,000 bottles of water and help travelers who might suffer from heatstroke or faint from the heat.
Public life paralyzed
In Athens and other Greek cities, public sector and many companies’ working hours have been changed to escape the midday heat, while air-conditioned areas have been opened to the public.
Civil servants were asked to work from home. In addition, the Ministry of Labor determined that employees of delivery services, such as pizzerias, can only start working after 5 pm. Large sectors of the economy have restricted their activities.
APA/AFP/Spyros Bakalis Before the closure of the Acropolis, the Red Cross distributed water
Temperatures remained above 30 degrees on Friday night and this is unlikely to change in the coming days. According to meteorologists in Athens, the drop in temperatures to around 35 degrees, which is common in the season, “is not in sight” for now. North winds are also expected to start from Sunday. Because of the extreme drought, the risk of forest fires will be high, Greek civil defense said. By Friday there was already a forest fire on the holiday island of Naxos, fire engines and helicopters were in action.
Similar conditions prevailed in Cyprus. On Friday, the thermometer in the capital Nicosia showed 43 degrees, reported the island’s radio. The authorities urged the population to avoid forest areas where unintentional fires could occur.
Plea to avoid the midday heat
In Italy, the country’s health ministry on Friday warned residents of 10 cities, including Rome and Bologna, not to stay outside in the midday heat due to extreme temperatures. The concern is justified: this week a man died in Italy after collapsing during roadworks. Over the weekend, temperatures in Italy are expected to reach twelve degrees above average in some areas.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: EFFIS
In Bulgaria, authorities announced the second highest orange alert level on Thursday – the hottest day since the start of the year. There are maximum temperatures of up to 41 degrees in Plovdiv and in Russe on the Danube. According to meteorologists, the heat wave should keep the country under control for about ten days.
Rain has recently brought some calm to Croatia, but forest fires are already raging here. Because of a fire near the coast, the authorities ordered the evacuation of part of the area near the Adriatic city of Sibenik. The village of Grebastica was devastated by the fire, cars and houses were destroyed. Around 140 firefighters managed to put out the flames by Friday, Croatian news portal Index.hr reported.
Take care of the elderly and animals
Spain also still suffers from the heat, but here the second official heat wave of this summer has slightly subsided. The AEMET meteorological service, which had already alerted several regions, just declared the highest red alert for the south of Gran Canaria. On the mainland, however, it should remain very hot, especially in parts of Andalusia with temperatures of up to 40 degrees.
extreme weather
While individual extreme events cannot be directly attributed to a specific cause, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is clear that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of the climate crisis. . . That means: precipitation and storms are getting heavier, heat waves are getting hotter, and droughts are getting drier.
TV commercials urge Spaniards to watch out for the elderly and pets in the heat. According to experts, parts of the country are drier than they have been in a thousand years. It was also the hottest and driest spring on record.
In Turkey, rescuers fought fires and floods at the same time. Three people died in floods on the northern Black Sea coast. In the southwest region of Milas, firefighters used planes and helicopters to try to contain a blaze. “While there is heat and fires on one side of the country, there are floods on the other side,” said Turkish Deputy Agriculture Minister Veysel Tiryaki. “In our country and around the world, we are fighting climate change.”
48 degrees expected
The European Space Agency (ESA) monitors the heat wave in Europe. She warned that parts of northern Europe would soon be affected. “Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are facing a major heatwave, with temperatures on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia forecast to rise to 48 degrees Celsius – possibly the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” the agency said on Thursday. -fair. So far, the European maximum is 48.8 degrees, reached in August 2021 in Florida, Sicily.
Portal/Guglielmo Mangiapane In Rome, people were asked to avoid the scorching midday heat. Not everyone followed the call.
The southern United States is also suffering from extreme heat. At least 93 million people in the country are warned about excessive heat, the US weather service said on Friday. Record temperatures are expected over the weekend. In some southern regions of the US states of California, Nevada and Arizona, up to almost 49 degrees were forecast for the weekend. At the same time, meteorologists were predicting heavy rains for the northeast of the country.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent
“Extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent in our warming climate, are having significant impacts on human health, ecosystems, the economy, agriculture and energy and water supplies,” said the Secretary-General of the Meteorological Organization. (WMO), Petteri Taalas. on Friday in Geneva. “It underscores the growing urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and deeply as possible.”
While individual extreme events cannot be directly attributed to a specific cause, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is clear that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat are becoming more frequent and intense as a result. of the climate. crisis. That means: precipitation and storms are getting heavier, heat waves are getting hotter, and droughts are getting drier.