Warnings intensified as heatwave continues across southern Europe with baking temperatures over 40C
17.07.2023 - 16:51
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Warnings have intensified as a major heatwave continues across southern Europe bringing with it temperatures hotter than 40C.
Italian health officials have now reissued important heat warnings parts of the continent saw a brutally hot start to the week, with temperatures expected to top 40C (104F).
The health ministry issued ten recommendations to protect elderly people and the sick as well as pets, urging people to stay indoors during the hottest hours, drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day and refrain from strenuous exercise at peak daylight times.
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It comes as the high-pressure anticyclone called Cerberus, the third heatwave in a month, is expected to affect much of the Mediterranean and will last until Wednesday (July 19).
The mercury in Rome hit 39C (102F) on Monday afternoon. The Italian capital is expected to be even hotter on Tuesday (July 18), as were several other cities, particularly in Sardinia and Sicily.
Power outages were hitting parts of Rome as electric grids suffered under heavier demand from air conditioners as people sought relief.
In Spain, a wildfire that started on Saturday on the Canary island of La Palma continued to burn out of control on Monday, burning over 11,000 acres of land and forcing 4,000 residents to be evacuated over the weekend.
Spain’s Aemet weather agency said the heat wave this week 'will affect a large part of the countries bordering the Mediterranean' with temperatures in some southern areas of Spain exceeding 42C (107F).
Spokesman Ruben del Campo said an anticyclone is pushing a hot mass of air from Africa towards Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The agency predicts that