Heatwave Cerberus: Southern Europe is Enveloped in Sweltering Conditions

Parts of southern Europe and north-western Africa are currently experiencing a heatwave, which might soon surpass records for temperature.

Parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey are anticipated to see temperatures that are higher than 40 C (104 F).

The highest recorded temperature in Italy was 48.8C (119.8F). Rome, Bologna, and Florence are among the 10 cities that have received a red alert warning.

A man in his forties passed away on Tuesday after falling in northern Italy.

The 44-year-old worker was painting zebra crossing lines in the town of Lodi, close to Milan, when he passed out from the heat, according to Italian media. After being transferred to the hospital, he passed away.

It’s going to be unbearably hot, tweeted Italian lawmaker Nicola Fratoianni.

“Maybe it’s the case that in the hottest hours all the useful precautions are taken to avoid tragedies like the one that happened today in Lodi.”

It has been suggested that people drink at least two liters of water each day and steer clear of dehydrating substances like alcohol and coffee.

In an effort to stay cool, one group of visitors on the streets of Rome told the Reuters news agency that they were using sprinklers and thermal water.

Mariko Desso, who was visiting from the southern city of Bari, stated, “We’re trying to survive.”

Several foreign visitors have already passed out from heat exhaustion, including a British guy in front of Rome’s Colosseum.

Extreme weather is anticipated in the next days thanks to the Cerberus heatwave, which the Italian Meteorological Society called for the three-headed monster from Dante’s inferno.

Spain has been scorching in temperatures of up to 45C for days, while evening lows did not go below 25C in several parts of the nation. Tuesday’s land temperature in the Extremadura region reached 60C, according to a satellite image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel mission.

Alejandrina Coy, a resident of Madrid, told Reuters, “It is true that temperatures have risen, but they are much, much higher than in other years.”

“I can see how much this is affecting everyone,”

Another local, Paz Llanes, claimed that “the weather is becoming less and less linear, there is less difference between the seasons.”

The Met Office predicts that temperatures will peak on Friday, and BBC Weather predicts that significant portions of southern Europe might experience low to mid-40s temperatures, potentially even higher.

According to BBC Weather, the heat wave is expected to last into the weekend, with Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, experiencing a Saturday high of 36C (96.8F), far higher than the month’s normal temperature of 24C (75.2F).

However, when Cerberus fades, Italian meteorologists are predicting that the upcoming heatwave, known as Charon after the ferryman who transported souls to the afterlife, will raise temperatures once more to around 43°C in Rome and perhaps even 47°C on the island of Sardinia.

On the Italian island of Sicily in August 2021, a temperature of 48.8C (119.8F) was recorded near Syracuse, setting a record for Europe.

Last year, the heat in Europe caused the deaths of more than 60,000 individuals. This summer’s warmth is feared to be the cause of numerous further fatalities. Every day since May, Majorca in Spain has seen many cases of heat stroke reported to the emergency health hotline.

A heatwave is a stretch of hot weather during which the temperature is greater than normal for the season.

According to experts, record-breaking heat waves are becoming more often, and climate change implies that they are now to be expected.

The hottest June on record worldwide, according to forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather.