‘Heat storm’ stretches into southern Europe

Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities yesterday, with meteorologists warning that temperatures will hit record highs across southern Europe in the coming days.

On the Spanish island of La Parma, meanwhile, at least 4,000 people had to be evacuated as a forest fire burned out of control, authorities said.

Spain, Italy and Greece have been experiencing scorching temperatures for several days already, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists scurrying for shade.

But a new anticyclone dubbed Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, pushed into the region from north Africa yesterday and could lift temperatures above 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of Italy early this week.

“We need to prepare for a severe heat storm that, day after day, will blanket the whole country,” Italian weather news service Meteo.it warned yesterday.

“In some places ancient heat records will be broken.”

Greece closed the ancient Acropolis during the hottest part of the day on Friday to protect tourists.

Italy’s Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said authorities were keeping a close eye on Rome and urged people to take care.

“Going to the Colosseum when it is 43C (109.4F) is not advisable, especially for an elderly person,” he told Il Messaggero newspaper yesterday, saying people should stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, between 11: 00 am and 6:00 pm.

Besides the Italian capital, health alerts were in place from the central city of Florence to Palermo in Sicily and Bari, in the southeast of the peninsula.

In Spain, forecasters warned of the risk of forest fires and said that it would not be easy to sleep during the night, with temperatures unlikely to fall below 25C (77F) across the country.

The heatwave will intensify from today, with temperatures reaching 44C (111.2F) in the Guadalquivir valley near Seville in the south of the country, forecasters predicted.

Europe’s highest recorded temperature of 48.8C (119.8F), registered in Sicily two years ago, could be exceeded in the coming days, notably on the Italian island of Sardinia, meteorologists have said.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States National Weather Service reported that a powerful heatwave stretching from California to Texas was expected to peak during an “extremely hot and dangerous weekend”.

Arizona’s state capital Phoenix recorded 16 straight days above 43C, with residents facing temperatures of 47C on Saturday.

California’s Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, was also likely to register new peaks yesterday, with the mercury possibly surpassing 54C.

Southern California is fighting numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders.

Further north, the Canadian government said wildfires had burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares this year, with more damage expected as the summer drags on.

Despite the heat, parts of South Asia have also been battered by torrential rain.

In northern India, relentless monsoon rains have reportedly killed at least 90 people, following burning heat.

GBDESK//