The heat wave will intensify in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere this Tuesday, with temperatures of 48 degrees Celsius expected in Sardinia, Italy, 44 degrees Celsius in southern Spain, while records are expected to be broken in the United States.
According to local authorities, 48 degrees are predicted today on the island of Sardinia and maximums of 43 degrees in Sicily.
In Greece, where many residents have been evacuated from coastal areas hit by the heat wave, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius, firefighters are trying to put out wildfires near Athens.
The most violent fire occurred in the Dervenohoria forest, 50 kilometers (km) north of Athens, which was fought by 140 firefighters supported by six aircraft and a helicopter.
Twelve hundred children had to leave their holiday camp on Monday because of the threat of fires and strong winds near Loutraki, about 80 km west of Athens.
Another fire broke out in Kouvaras, about 50 km east of the Greek capital, and spread to Avavyssos, 40 km southeast of Athens, in the densely populated region of Attica. Many residents had to leave their homes on Monday.
Southern Spain is also plagued by extreme heat, which can reach 44°C in the Murcia region.
Due to the heat wave, red alerts were issued in Aragon (north), in the Balearic Islands (east) and also in Catalonia (northeast).
According to the Spanish meteorological office, temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees above normal for the season.
Yes, Europe is in the throes of a major heat wave.
Using satellites, we can observe the temperature of the land surface on a global scale over decades to identify changing trends.
Check out our land surface temperature project: https://t.co/X6xIKLrkDM@SurfaceTempUoL
– ESA Climate Office (@esacclimate) July 17, 2023
In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40 degrees Celsius until Thursday, a 90-year-old man has died and three other elderly people have been hospitalized with heat stroke, officials said.
In the United States, weather services have recorded a heat wave in the south and are predicting several temperature records. In Death Valley, California, one of the hottest places on earth, the thermometer showed 52 °C on Sunday.
Arizona’s capital, Phoenix, recorded temperatures above 43°C on Monday and for the 18th day.
In Canada, more than 10 million acres have burned so far this year, with 882 fires still burning as of Monday, including 579 deemed uncontrollable, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).
According to local authorities, two firefighters died fighting those fires.
Japan also issued heat warnings on Monday for 32 of its 47 prefectures, recording temperatures close to an all-time high of 41.1 degrees in 2018.
China broke a record on Sunday with 52.2°C in the arid region of Xinjiang (west).
Source: DN
