Europe on fire: Tourists swelter in Italy as record temperatures soar towards 48C – the highest ever recorded in Europe – as people flee wildfires in the Canaries
- Italy faces temperatures of historic highs with a red alert issued for 16 cities
- Meanwhile some 500 people were evacuated to avoid a wildfire on La Palma
Tourists in Italy are sweltering as the temperatures soar to 48C, the highest ever recorded, while people in the Canaries flee from wildfires.
Italy is facing temperatures of historic highs this weekend with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.
The meteo centre warned Italians to prepare for ‘the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time’.
Meanwhile Spanish authorities have preemptively evacuated some 500 people to avoid a wildfire on the Canary Island of La Palma.
The regional president of the Canary Island, Fernando Clavijo, said the blaze has destroyed at least 11 homes within the relatively small burned zone of 345 acres.
Italy is facing temperatures of historic highs this weekend with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence (pictured: tourists sweltering in the heat in Rome)
Meanwhile Spanish authorities have preemptively evacuated some 500 people to avoid a wildfire (pictured) on the Canary Island of La Palma
The meteo centre warned Italians to prepare for ‘the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time’ (pictured: tourists in Venice today)
The thermometer is likely to hit 40C (104F) in Rome by Monday and even 43C (109F) on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5C (105F) set in August 2007.
The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48C (118F), the European Space Agency warned – ‘potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe’.
Greece is also roasting, with parts of the country facing highs of as much as 44C (111F) today.
A red alert warning, which is in place for 16 Italian cities, means that the heat is so intense that it poses a health risk to the whole population – not just vulnerable groups like the elderly and very young children.
The central city of Thebes sweated under 44.2C (111F) on yesterday.
The Acropolis, Athens’s top tourist attraction, closed for a second day straight Saturday during the hottest hours with 41C (105F) expected, as did several parks in the capital.
Regions of France, Germany, Poland and Spain are also baking in searing temperatures.
The thermometer is likely to hit 40C (104F) in Rome (pictured today) by Monday and even 43C (109F) on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5C (105F) set in August 2007
The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48C (118F), the European Space Agency warned – ‘potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe’ (pictured: people trying to cool down in Venice today)
While people in Italy (pictured in Rome) are suffering under the high temperatures, Greece is also roasting, with parts of the country facing highs of as much as 44C (111F) today
A red alert warning, which is in place for 16 Italian cities, means that the heat is so intense that it poses a health risk to the whole population – not just vulnerable groups like the elderly and very young children (pictured: tourists sheltering under umbrellas in Venice)
The central city of Thebes sweated under 44.2C (111F) on yesterday, while Rome (pictured today) is expected to experience temperatures above 40C this weekend and next week
Tourists at the Roman forum brave the hot conditions on another sweltering day with high temperatures in Rome today
Tourists shelter from the sun with umbrellas in St. Mark’s Square as the city gears up for ‘Redentore’ festival celebrations in Venice today
In Venice, tourists used umbrellas and hats to shelter from the heat today
The wildfire on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma is further progressing and regional president Clavijo warned today that the number of evacuees – currently 500 – could easily increase.
READ MORE: Baking Brit tourists laugh off searing temperatures in Europe as they soak up ‘flaming hot’ weather – while it rains back home in UK
‘With the resources that we are deploying, we hope we can control the fire today, but the winds are shifting,’ Clavijo said.
He added: ‘More gusting winds are expected and, combined with the dryness of the terrain and the lack of rain, this situation is complicated.’
Spain’s army has deployed 150 of its firefighters to help local crews battle the blaze. More local firefighters are arriving on boats from the neighbouring island of Tenerife, according to Clavijo.
The fire is on the western side of the island on wooded, hilly terrain dotted with homes. It is not an area that was directly impacted by the 2021 volcano eruption.
Puntagorda mayor, Vicente Rodríguez, told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE that the fire started inside the limits of his municipality.
He added that the area has seen below-average rainfall in recent years, just like large parts of the drought-stricken mainland, due to changing weather patterns impacted by climate change.
The wildfire on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma is further progressing and regional president Clavijo warned today that the number of evacuees – currently 500 – could easily increase
‘With the resources that we are deploying, we hope we can control the fire today, but the winds are shifting,’ Clavijo said
He added: ‘More gusting winds are expected and, combined with the dryness of the terrain and the lack of rain, this situation is complicated.’
The fire coincides with a heatwave that is hitting southern Europe. Spain saw record high temperatures in 2022 and this spring as it endures a prolonged drought
The fire coincides with a heatwave that is hitting southern Europe. Spain saw record high temperatures in 2022 and this spring as it endures a prolonged drought.
READ MORE: Roasting Brit tourists describe cowering in their hotels and dodging ‘flaming-hot’ beaches as brutal Cerberus heatwave grips Europe
Authorities and forestry experts are concerned that the conditions are ripe for a difficult wildfire campaign after seeing virulent fires as early as March.
La Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago off Africa’s western coast. At their nearest point, the islands are 60 miles from Morocco.
The deadly heatwave hitting Europe has forced Greece to close the Acropolis in Athens after baking tourists collapsed and fainted yesterday as Britons across the Mediterranean brace themselves for record 48.8C (120F) temperatures.
But many British tourists braved the extreme heat yesterday to sunbathe on beaches across Benidorm in Spain and Albufeira in Portugal while others sought relief from the searing temperature by having drinks at nearby bars.
British tourists across the Mediterranean are being warned of the life-threatening effects of the sweltering heat after an anticyclone weather system from the Sahara desert called Cerberus expanded northwards.
Cerberus – named after Dante’s three-headed dog in Greek mythology who guarded the gates to hell – will see temperatures rise to above 45C (113F) in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey by the end of next week.
The deadly heatwave is wreaking havoc across Europe, with wildfires raging across Croatia and tourists fainting from the blistering heat, while others have been rescued while trying to cool off in the sea.
Greece said its top tourist attraction, the Acropolis, would close during the hottest hours on Friday as temperatures were expected to reach 40C (104F) in Athens.
Italians Giorgia Bragion and Maria Romeo use a fan to cool off amid the soaring heat in Rome on July 14
Sun-lover David Campbell cools off by regularly dousing himself with water (pictured)
In Greece, locals and tourists flock to the beach to cool off. Here, they are pictured in the town of Nafplion, some 200km southwest of Athens
A young boy tries to cool off at a fountain at Syntagma Square amid scorching heat. Extreme temperatures have been forecast
In Athens, Greece, another tourist collapsed in front of the Acropolis after temperatures soared to 45C (113F) and was carried to a waiting ambulance on a stretcher by police officers.
The Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily are set to bear the brunt of the unforgiving heat, with forecasters predicting that temperatures could soar above record 48.8C (120F) temperatures next week. The previous record high of 48.8C (120F)was registered in the Sicilian town of Floridia on August 11, 2021.
Land temperatures – how hot the ground is to touch – in Spain reached upwards of 60C (140F) in parts of southern Spain on Thursday, with the European Space Agency warning next week could break continental records.
Extreme weather resulting from a warming climate is ‘unfortunately becoming the new normal,’ warned Secretary-General Petteri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In response, officials in several countries were preparing emergency measures, cellphone alerts and adjustments to staffing levels.
In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours were changed for the public sector and many businesses to avoid the midday heat, while air-conditioned areas were opened to the public.
A tourist at the Roman colosseum covers her head with a scarf from the hot sun as Rome experiences another sweltering day
Members of the public fill bottles with water at a fountain in Rome on yesterday as Italy is hit by a heatwave
Volunteers of the Hellenic Red Cross hand out bottles of water at the bottom of the Acropolis hill in Athens, Greece
British tourists braced the extreme heat in Benidorm and headed to the beach
‘It’s like being in Africa,’ 24-year-old tourist Balint Jolan, from Hungary, said. ‘It’s not that much hotter than it is currently at home, but yes, it is difficult.’
The devastating effects of the heatwave has been seen across Europe, with wildfires ripping across Croatia and a 44-year-old road sign worker dying due to the heat in Italy.
READ MORE: What’s causing Europe’s heatwave?
The 44-year-old Italian man, who has not been named, collapsed on Tuesday due to the heat in the Italian city of Lodi, southeast Milan, as temperatures soared to above 40C (104F). The worker, who has not been named, later died in hospital.
‘We are facing an unbearable heatwave,’ Italian politician Nicola Fratoianni said.
‘Dying from the heat is unthinkable – we should be taking measures to avoid tragedies like this in the hottest hours of the day.’
Italian authorities have now urged people not to drink alcohol or travel unnecessarily to reduce risk.
In North Macedonia, the high heat triggered a spike in emergency calls for health assistance, while residents in Kosovo, which is also landlocked, flocked to an artificial beach near the capital Pristina.
Excessive heat is one of the deadliest meteorological events, according to the WMO. One recent study estimates over 61,000 people died from heat during Europe’s record-breaking summer last year.
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