Southern Europe is undergoing a devastating heatwave, with a warning that temperatures could reach record highs for the continent next week, raising concerns about the impact on human, crop and animal health, reports RTE.
Weather warnings were in place for the Spanish Canary Islands, Italy, Cyprus and Greece, with Greek authorities expecting temperatures to reach 43 or 44 degrees Celsius tomorrow or Saturday.
Authorities kept an ambulance on standby near the archaeological site of the Acropolis in Athens, ready to provide first aid to tourists drowning in a heatwave dubbed “Cerberus” by the Italian meteorological association.
The European Space Agency (ESA), whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures, said July could be a hot month.
“Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48 Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” it said, reports RTE.
The impact of summer’s extreme heat has been laid this week on research that showed up to 61,000 people may have died during a heatwave in Europe last summer.
Governments and employers are under pressure to do more to protect workers exposed to the scorching sun during the latest heatwave, named after the three-headed underworld dog in Greek mythology.
There are concerns about the impact on outdoor workers in Italy after a 44-year-old man painting road signs in the northern city of Lodi collapsed and died this week.
“Heat is a silent killer. Therefore, it is a serious concern that human lives are at risk,” said climate scientist Hannah Cloke, a professor at the University of Reading in England.
“Heat is a silent killer. So this is the main concern that people’s lives are at risk,” said climate scientist Hannah Cloke, a professor at England’s Reading University, reports RTE.
Certainly, we should immediately stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” Ms Cloke added, warning that some changes to the climate were already locked in, reports RTE.
In Greece, the government ordered a suspension of work from 12:00 to 17:00 local time, where heat-related risks are high, and required remote work for private sector workers with health issues.
In the Balkans, sunbathers in the Croatian town of Nin covered themselves in local healing mud to protect themselves from the sun while 56 firefighters, including 20 vehicles and three planes, battled a blaze near the Adriatic town of Šibenik.
“Next week there will be an even stronger heatwave than this one, some values in the central south will be really freaky. Between Tuesday and Wednesday in Rome and Florence we will probably exceed 40 degrees, which will also be approached in the north,” said Luca Lombroso, meteorologist from the AMPRO group in Italy, reports RTE.
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