Italy, the last Balkans in Europe is feeling the brunt of the record heat wave
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Italy and the Balkans felt the impact on Monday of an outbreak of a heat wave that has caused dozens of deaths and disrupted daily life across the continent for more than a week, with growing concerns about the spread of wildfires.
In Italy, 22 cities from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily were covered by a red heat warning on Monday.
Pilgrims at the Vatican used fans to cool themselves and shelter under shade umbrellas as Pope Leo delivered his Angelus message from the balcony to the crowd below on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a holiday in the city of Rome.
In Croatia, the weather service issued a red alert on Monday for regions including the capital Zagreb and the tourist resorts of Split and Dubrovnik.
Dozens of firefighters, aided by four helicopters, battled a wildfire burning through pine forests on the tourist island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, about 55 kilometers southwest of Split.
In neighboring Serbia, the State Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) has warned that temperatures will reach 39 C on Monday.
In the south, Albania had a wildfire that consumed many hectares of trees and olive trees near the southern village of Klos over the weekend.
Western Europe can rise again
In Western Europe, where temperatures have fallen from June’s record high, there have been warnings that heat could build up again next week.
The heat wave, which began on June 20, set early summer records and blistering conditions disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed health care systems. France has reported that 1,000 people have died due to the heat wave.
France reported nearly 1,000 deaths last week as the heatwave spread across Europe. The numbers are expected to rise as more data is collected.
France’s public health agency said most of the heat-related deaths involved the elderly and warned that the number was expected to rise.
French media reported that funeral homes in and around Paris are overwhelmed by the number of corpses they have to deal with.
The heat wave would not have “happened” without human-caused climate change, which has made temperatures rise this week 100 times higher than they were two decades ago, according to scientists.
Daniel Mocio, a meteorologist at the Italian Air Force, said the heat wave is expected to continue for several days in central and eastern Europe, with temperatures running 8 C to 10 C above average. Any relief in western Europe was likely to be temporary.
Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society, said that temperatures will rise again from July 5 or 6.
“The areas affected look very similar to the first games, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and to some extent Britain,” Mercalli told Reuters.
“With more heat the risk of forest fires increases, but we also see more storms, which obviously reduce that risk,” he added, noting that the storms were very localized so rainfall amounts could vary greatly.
The boys died in a hot car in Cyprus
Other heat-related disasters were reported over the weekend.
Two boys, aged 8 and 10, from Bulgaria were found dead in a hot car in Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, police said. Cyprus is currently experiencing temperatures of around 38 C, which can be classified as a heat wave in the eastern Mediterranean island for the time of year.
Two cyclists, a 30-year-old and a 71-year-old, died while taking part in the Poland Bike Marathon series in Marki near Warsaw on Sunday.
