Higher-than-usual summer temperatures stifle much of southern Europe. Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Greece are among the most affected countries. Health alerts for temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in various regions and wind chills of up to 50 degrees in other locations are extended. The north of Athens and part of the Swiss territory are facing forest fires.
The hottest summers in history. It is the panorama that humanity is going through and that has hit Europe with special force in recent days.
The meteorological authorities issued red alerts for record temperatures this Tuesday, July 18, in several regions of Spain and in Rome, Italy.
With scorching temperatures hitting the Old Continent during the peak tourist season, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) pointed out that the heat wave in the northern hemisphere would intensify in the coming days and warned of an increased risk to health.
An estimated 61,000 people may have died in heatwaves last year in Europe alone and the situation is set to get worse.
Spain
The heat does not let up in much of the country. It is the third wave of extreme weather of the summer and given the weather, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) maintains the orange alert, of significant risk, for 13 of the 17 autonomous communities.
Among the areas under orange alert are towns in the Community of Madrid such as Henares, areas in the south, west and Las Vegas, because the thermometer will mark between 40 and 41 degrees Celsius. While in the Sierra 36 degrees are recorded.
But in locations in three communities across the nation, the temperatures are even more extreme, which is why they are under a red notice, indicating a potential threat to the health of anyone exposed to heat.
This is the case of Girona and Lleida, in the northeastern region of Catalonia, where the maximum will reach 42°C.
In the community of Aragón, the meteorological authorities warn of temperatures that will mark up to 43 degrees on the banks of the Ebro in Zaragoza, 42 degrees in the south of Huesca and in Bajo Aragón de Teruel.
The third area under maximum alert is the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, where they have activated the red warning in the north, the northeast and insular interior, by temperatures between 42°C and 44°C. However, there will be thermal sensations that will exceed 50°C, the authorities warn, due to the combination of high temperatures with high humidity.
The extreme weather affects tourism in the Mediterranean, of vital importance for the economy, where it fell by 10%, authorities said. In the case of Spain, thousands of national and foreign tourists flee to Galicia, in the northwest, which has seen a significant increase in visitors, amid average temperatures between 20 and 26 degrees in its main cities, Ourense being the area with the highest heat, with 33 degrees.
Experts warn that there could be changes in the Old Continent regarding the tourism sector in summer, leading many to prefer countries in other parts of Europe, usually with lower temperatures.
Italy
The Health Ministry issued red weather alerts for 20 of the country’s 27 major cities on July 18 and the number is expected to rise to 23 on Wednesday.
Rome experiences this Tuesday temperatures that oscillate between 40 and 42 degrees, well above the historic maximum of 40.7 degrees recorded last summer, while in other parts of the country it may exceed 45.
The climate leaves high humidity levels, which is why they already call the phenomenon a “heat storm”.
In the Italian capital, tourists try to cool off with water from the fountains and by standing under giant fans installed outside the Colosseum. Hailing a taxi is almost as impossible a task as enjoying a cool breeze.
Some were forced to queue for more than an hour in the scorching heat outside Rome’s central train station due to a chronic shortage of taxis in the capital.
“This would not be acceptable in the United States,” said Taylor Simmons, a tourist from Seattle, waiting in a long line outside Rome’s main station.
Greece
The high temperatures raise concern when, in addition, its inhabitants face a forest fire that devastated the forests north of Athens this Tuesday, for the second day in a row, after intensifying overnight.
Authorities asked residents of nearby villages to leave their homes as the flames approached.
As thousands of fled seaside resorts, highways were closed and vacation homes were gutted following days of extreme heat in Greece.
More heat wave temperatures are expected later in the week. pic.twitter.com/1Wu6ag2b8j
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 18, 2023
The fire broke out in the Dervenochoria area about 30 km north of the Greek capital. France and Italy will send four Canadair water pumps at the request of Greece, in the midst of the emergency, confirmed the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic.
Meanwhile, firefighters managed to contain other fires to the southeast and west of the Greek capital, but the flames are still active.
“Civil protection forces put up a fight all night,” the entity said, adding that some 250 firefighters assisted by 75 trucks, 11 planes and nine helicopters fought the fire in Dervenochoria.
Swiss
The new heat wave is also hitting Switzerland and in the midst of this panorama dozens of firefighters fought on Tuesday to fight a forest fire.
The deflagration forced the evacuation of more than 200 people and the authorities warn that the flames could spread even more if the winds increase, so it would take days or weeks to completely extinguish.
The fire has spread to 100 hectares of forest. The Federal Office for the Environment warned that forest fires could become more frequent, especially in summer, due to the increase in hot and dry weather caused by climate change.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service notes that 2022 and 2021 were the hottest summers ever recorded on the continent, when Europe’s highest confirmed temperature of 48.8°C was recorded in Sicily two years ago.
But the situation is set to get worse, scientists warn. Large areas of Europe, Asia and the United States continue to experience extreme weather as the World Meteorological Organization warns that the Northern Hemisphere heat wave will intensify this week.
With Reuters and local media
