Extreme Heatwave Sweeps Southern Europe: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and More

2023-07-14 20:32:36

The high-pressure system that crossed the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa will bring temperatures of 45 degrees, in some places even higher. Authorities in several countries prepared emergency measures, mobile phone alerts and staffing adjustments.

In Greece, the Acropolis was even closed for five hours on Friday “to protect workers and tourists at the archaeological site,” said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. There “the temperature felt by the body (…) is considerably higher” than the temperatures of over 40 degrees already measured in the city. On Friday, a tourist also suffered from heat stroke while visiting the Acropolis.

Southern Europe is groaning under the heat

At the weekend, temperatures above 40 degrees are expected in Greece and Cyprus, but also in western Turkey.

As early as Thursday, the Red Cross was on duty at the foot of the 2,500-year-old monument to distribute up to 30,000 water bottles and help travelers who might suffer sunstroke or faint due to the heat.

Public life paralyzed

In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours for the public sector and many businesses have been changed to escape the midday heat, while also opening air-conditioned areas to the public.

Civil servants have been asked to work from home. In addition, the Ministry of Labor ordered that the employees of delivery services such as pizza services may only start work following 5 p.m. Large parts of the economy restricted their activities.

APA/AFP/Spyros Bakalis Before the Acropolis was closed, the Red Cross distributed water

Temperatures remained above 30 degrees on Friday night, and that is unlikely to change in the coming days. According to the meteorologists in Athens, a drop in temperatures to around 35 degrees, which is usual for the season, is “not in sight” for the time being. North winds are also expected to set in from Sunday. Because of the extreme drought, the risk of forest fires will then be high, said the Greek civil defense. On Friday there was already a bush fire on the holiday island of Naxos, fire engines and helicopters were in action.

Similar conditions prevailed in Cyprus. On Friday, the thermometer in the capital Nicosia showed 43 degrees, the island’s radio reported. The authorities urged the population to avoid forest areas where unintentional fires might be started.

Appeal to avoid midday heat

In Italy, the country’s health ministry on Friday warned residents of ten cities, including Rome and Bologna, not to stay out in the midday heat due to extreme temperatures. The concern is justified: This week a man died in Italy following collapsing during road works. Over the weekend, temperatures in Italy are expected to reach twelve degrees above average in some areas.

Graphics: APA/ORF; Quelle: EFFIS

In Bulgaria, the authorities announced the second highest orange warning level on Thursday – the hottest day since the beginning of the year. There are maximum temperatures of up to 41 degrees in Plovdiv and in Russe on the Danube. According to meteorologists, the heat wave should have the country firmly under control for around ten days.

Rainfall has recently brought some calm to Croatia, but forest fires are already raging here. Because of a fire near the coast, the authorities ordered part of the area near the Adriatic town of Sibenik to be evacuated. The village of Grebastica was devastated by the fire, cars and houses were destroyed. Around 140 firefighters managed to fight down the flames by Friday, reported the Croatian news portal Index.hr.

Take care of elders and animals

Spain is also still groaning under the heat, but here the second official heat wave of this summer has subsided slightly. The weather service AEMET, which had previously warned for several regions, only declared the highest red alert for the south of Gran Canaria. On the mainland, however, it should remain very hot, especially in parts of Andalusia with temperatures of up to 40 degrees.

Extremwetter

Although individual extreme events cannot be directly traced back to a specific cause, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change it is clear that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of the climate crisis. This means: Precipitation and storms are getting heavier, heat waves are getting hotter and droughts are getting drier.

TV commercials have urged Spaniards to watch out for the elderly and pets in the heat. According to experts, parts of the country are drier than they have been in a thousand years. It was also the hottest and driest spring on record.

In Turkey, rescue workers fought fires and floods at the same time. Three people died in floods on the northern Black Sea coast. In the southwestern region of Milas, firefighters used planes and helicopters to try to contain a conflagration. “While there is heat and fires on one side of the country, there are floods on the other side,” Turkey’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Veysel Tiryaki said. “In our country and around the world, we are struggling with climate change.”

48 degrees expected

The European Space Agency (ESA) follows the heat wave in Europe. She warned that parts of northern Europe will soon be affected. “Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave, with temperatures on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia forecast to rise to 48 degrees Celsius – possibly the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” the agency said on Thursday. So far, the European maximum is 48.8 degrees, which was reached in August 2021 in Floridia, Sicily.

Archyde.com/Guglielmo Mangiapane In Rome, people were asked to avoid the blazing midday heat. Not everyone followed the appeal.

The southern United States is also currently suffering from extreme heat. At least 93 million people in the country are warned of excessive heat, the US weather service said on Friday. Record temperatures are expected over the weekend. In some regions in the south of the US states of California, Nevada and Arizona, up to almost 49 degrees were predicted for the weekend. At the same time, the meteorologists predicted heavy rain for the northeast of the country.

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent

“Extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent in our warming climate, are having significant impacts on human health, ecosystems, the economy, agriculture, and energy and water supplies,” said World Weather Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. on Friday in Geneva. “This underscores the increasing urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as profoundly as possible.”

Although individual extreme events cannot be directly traced back to a specific cause, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change it is clear that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of the climate crisis. This means: Precipitation and storms are getting heavier, heat waves are getting hotter and droughts are getting drier.

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