What is behind the heat waves in Europe? | world

Red alerts have been issued for 16 cities across Italy as extreme heat continues to affect southern Europe.

The alerts, which indicate risks even for healthy people, apply to tourist spots such as Rome, Florence and Bologna in the coming days.

Thermometers should also point to high temperatures in Europe next week, with another heat wave looming.

Periods of extreme heat occur within normal weather patterns, but globally they are becoming more frequent, intense and prolonged due to global warming.

The Italian government has advised anyone in areas covered by red alerts on Saturday to avoid direct sunlight between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and be especially careful of the elderly or vulnerable.

In Rome, tour guide Felicity Hinton, 59, told the BBC that high temperatures and overcrowding make getting around the city a “nightmare”.

“It’s always hot in Rome, but it’s been consistently hot for much longer than usual,” she said.

A gondolier in Venice told the BBC that it was so hot that the city’s famous gondoliers became unbearable.

“The heat … your legs go up, your feet go up, it really burns … sometimes tourists jump in pain when they touch it.”

Meanwhile, temperatures in Greece have reached 40 degrees Celsius or more in recent days. The Acropolis in Athens – the country’s most popular tourist attraction – was closed during the hottest hours on Friday and Saturday to protect visitors..

Matt Finden, 51, of Vancouver, Canada, and his family were among the last tourists to visit the Acropolis before it closed.

He told the BBC: “It was amazing out there. But along the way we saw people fainting while receiving medical attention, sitting in the back of ambulances and even vomiting from heatstroke.”

a The Red Cross provides water and first aid on sitewhich is located on top of a rocky hill and provides visitors with a bit of shade.

There is also Fears of increased risk of forest firesEspecially in areas with strong winds. Greece suffered massive wildfires in 2021 in another exceptional heat wave.

Reuters news agency reports that a forest fire on the Spanish island of La Palma has forced at least 500 people.

Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, said the fire broke out early Saturday in El Pinar de Puntagorda, destroying at least 11 homes.

to High temperatures have also reached the central parts of the country Europewith Germany and Poland among the affected countries.

The Meteorological Department of the Czech Republic issued a warning that temperatures over the weekend could exceed 38 degrees Celsius, which is an unusual high for the country.

Highs of up to 47°C are expected in some parts of southern Spainand southeastern Italy and possibly Greece by the end of the week. Some city records are likely to be broken.

In the United Kingdom, however, Heavy rains and strong winds are expected in parts of England on saturday.

Meteorologists said this was because the southward shift of the jet stream, which had been feeding warm weather in Europe, was also drawing low-pressure systems into the UK – bringing unstable and cooler weather.

Present heat wave in it Europe He was His name is Cerberus by the Italian Meteorological Societyafter a monster Three heads appear in HellPart 1 of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

Italian meteorologists have warned that the coming heatwave – named Charon after the ferryman who ferried souls to the underworld in Greek mythology – could send temperatures above 40C next week.

Heatwaves have also been seen in parts of the United States, China, North Africa and Japan.

Last month was the hottest month on record, according to the European Union’s climate monitoring service, Copernicus.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.8°C in Sicily in August 2021.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that extreme weather caused by global warming is “unfortunately becoming the new normal”.