Cerberus Heatwave Threats Southern Europe

Weather experts warned residents in Europe to brace themselves against the occurrence of heatwaves that are most likely to result in record-breaking temperatures.

A BBC report said the extreme hot weather could be felt across areas in southern Europe and north-west Africa. This as the Cerberus heatwave, which is named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante's Inferno, is expected to bring extreme conditions in the coming days.

Meteorologists said that temperatures are foreseen to surpass 40 degrees Celsius in some areas of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey, with the Met Office saying that the hot weather could peak on Friday.

Meanwhile, residents in Italy were cautioned that the temperatures could spike to as high as 48.8 degrees Celsius, prompting authorities to issue a red alert warning for some cities, such as Rome, Bologna, and Florence.

Number of deaths

The NBC News reported that the fatalities due to the hot weather could have already reached to 61,000 as of this week.

Due to the seriousness of the hot temperature, the government of affected states and employers of companies have been placed under pressure to enforce measures that will ensure the protection of workers, especially those who have been exposed to the burning sun.

Concerns regarding the effects of working outdoors have been raised in Italy after a 44-year-old man died this week. The victim was painting road markings in the northern town of Lodi when he collapsed.

Authorities in Greece have already directed the suspension of work during the afternoon in areas where the threat from too much heat is very high. They further suggested the conduct of remote work for those private sector employees who have health conditions.

Reason for the hot weather

A Mirror report said Europeans are experiencing this kind of weather due to the huge band of high pressure.

Meteorologist Rebekah Sherwin explained that the high temperatures are being caused by an established high pressure system that has been placed across the region. This will then allow temperatures to build day by day.

Further, she said that some unusual high sea surface temperatures are also occurring across the region, with many areas in the Mediterranean seeing surface temperatures as high as 25 to 28 degree Celsius.

"The southern shift of the jet stream that has pushed the high pressure southwards across this region has also led to low pressure systems being directed into the UK, bringing more unsettled and cooler weather here than we experienced in June when the jet stream was at a more northerly latitude," Sherwin said in the Mirror report.

Experts said that temperatures could return to "average values" for the time of the year, but there is a chance that they may increase to slightly above average depending on the progresses in the weather.

The Met Office has emphasized that the extremely high temperatures in Europe are often a result of climate change,

This can trigger disasters such as forest fires as well as some human health issues.