Danai Nesta Kupemba
BBC News
European swellers as heat waves show no signs of mitigation
Heat waves continue to grasp much of Europe, with authorities in many countries giving health warnings as they burn temperatures.
Southern Spain is the worst region, with temperatures recorded in Seville and nearby areas in the mid-40s.
According to Spain’s National Weather Service, the new June heat record for 46C was set on Saturday in the town of El Granado. This said this will be the hottest June of June records.
Red heat warnings have been enacted in parts of Portugal, Italy and Croatia, with many amber warnings covering the regions of Spain, France, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
In Barcelona, a woman died after completing her shift as a road vacuum on Saturday, when temperatures were very high. Local governments are investigating her death.
In Italy, emergency departments across the country have reported an increase in cases of heat stroke, primarily affecting “elderly people, cancer patients, or homeless people,” Mario Guarino, vice president of the Italian Association of Emergency Medicine, told AFP News.
Hospitals such as Ospedale Dei Colli in Naples have installed dedicated heat stroke routes to speed up access to important treatments such as cold water immersion.
Northern city of Bologna has seven climate shelters with air conditioning and drinking water, while Rome has free access to the city swimming pool for people over the age of 70.
A pharmacist in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, told Reuters, “We’ve already had some cases of heat strokes and burns,” despite telling Reuters.
The severe heat is also affecting countries in the Western Balkan countries where temperatures exceed 40c.
Serbia registered the highest temperature ever since it began recording in the 19th century. Slovenia recorded June’s hottest June temperatures on Saturday.
North Macedonia is also swelling as temperatures hit 42C on Friday.
EPA/ShutterStock
Tourists cool down under fog clouds in Valencia, Spain on Sunday
The hot weather is coming
Some regions will see temperatures rising in France, Germany, Italy and the UK over the next few days, continuing to get hot until the middle of the week.
Yellow and amber alerts have been in place in parts of the UK this weekend, with temperatures in London likely to reach 35C on Monday.
The heat is built under large high pressure areas, causing dry air to fall and warm.
The process continued for several days, causing temperatures to rise. The high pressure area will move east over the next few days, moving high temperatures north and east.
While it is difficult to link individual extreme weather events to climate change, climate is becoming more common and intense due to climate change.
Scientists at the World Weather Attributes analysing the impact of climate change on extreme weather events say that the three-day June heat wave, more than 28c, is about 10 times more likely to occur today than before the Industrial Revolution.
Additional reports from BBC Weather, Guy Delauney and Guy Hedgecoe
