US, Europe and Japan face extreme heat waves

Several regions of the world are on track to register heat records this Saturday, in the United States, Europe and Japan, forcing the authorities to take drastic measures against the danger posed by these extreme temperatures that are the latest example of the threat of change. climate.

The Italian meteorological center CNI called to prepare for “the most intense heat wave of the summer and one of the most intense of all time“.

Southern Italy could record temperatures slightly above 38°C as of this Saturday in Sardinia, Sicily, Calabria and Apulia with highs “of 40 degrees and more, especially on Sunday.”

In Rome, temperatures can rise to 40°C on Monday and reach between 42 and 43°C on Tuesday, breaking the record of 40.5°C recorded in August 2007.

The island of Sardinia is also on track to mark a new maximum that exceeds the 48.8°C reached on August 11, 2021, which is the highest temperature recorded in Europe.

Spain, eastern France, Germany and Poland are also facing an intense heat wave.

In Greece, the authorities decreed on Friday the closure of the Acropolis of Athens during the hottest hours of the day and on Saturday they announced the same measure.

This closure of the most visited monument in Greece, which is listed by Unesco as World Heritage, was adopted “to protect workers” and to “visitors”, explained in a statement the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni.

Temperatures of between 40°C and 41°C are forecast in Athens, but “the thermal sensation (…) felt by the body is considerably higher”, on top of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is located, warned the minister.

– USA under the onslaught of heatwave –

In the United States, an intense heat wave extends from California to Texas and a peak in temperatures is expected this weekend.

In the southwestern states, millions of people have suffered during the week from the onslaught of extreme heat that poses a risk to the elderly, construction workers, delivery drivers and the homeless.

Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, registered its fifteenth consecutive day above 43ºC on Friday, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS).

Death Valley in California, which is one of the hottest places on Earth, can also reach new temperature peaks on Sunday with up to 54ºC.

There are several active fires in southern California, including one in Riverside County that burned more than 3,000 acres and forced to issue evacuation orders for residents.

Some regions of China, including the capital Beijing, have also suffered spells of intense heat combined with heavy rain for weeks.

In Japan, the weather agency urged people to take precautions against heat stroke this weekend, as temperatures of 38 and 39°C are expected on Sunday and Monday, which could set new records.

In the city of Akita, in northern Japan, the same amount of rain that is usual in the entire month of July was recorded in half a day, NHK reported.

The downpour generated at least one landslide and forced 9,000 people to evacuate their homes.

– Fire risks –

Globally, last month was the warmest June ever recorded, according to data from the European agency Copernicus and NASA and the United States Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The first week of July was the warmest week on record so far, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Heat is one of the deadliest weather events, the WMO noted.

In 2022, the heat in Europe caused the death of 60,000 people, with 18,000 fatalities in Italy, the most affected country, according to a study published Monday in Nature Medicine.

In addition, this heat wave increases the risk of fires.

In Greece, which suffered violent forest fires in 2021 due to an exceptional heat wave, authorities warned of a high risk of fires, especially in regions where strong winds are expected.

In North America, this boreal summer has been marked by a series of weather catastrophes. Smoke from more than 500 uncontrolled outbreaks of fire in Canada generated several episodes of air pollution that reached south, affecting vast swaths of the northeastern United States in June.

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