Southern Europe is bracing to hit record-breaking temperatures as a blistering heatwave approaches.
A new anticyclone dubbed Charon, known as the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology, is expected to surge into the region from north Africa and could raise temperatures beyond 45 degrees Celsius in Italy, Spain, and Greece.
"We need to prepare for a severe heat storm that, day after day, will blanket the whole country," Italian weather news service said, as quoted by The Independent. "In some places ancient heat records will be broken."
According to Il Meteo, Charon's impacts will reach from the Mediterranean basin to some areas of Eastern Europe, engulfing the entire country of Italy.
Temperatures in Rome are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius on Monday and 42 degrees Celsius to 43 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, breaking the previous high of 40.5 degrees Celsius recorded in August 2007.
"We're from Texas and it's really hot there, we thought we would escape the heat but it's even hotter here," Colman Peavy told the National News.
The Mediterranean region has already experienced high temperatures for the past few days due to another weather system that has moved northwards from north Africa and is named Cerberus, a three-headed monster that guards the gates to the underworld in Greek mythology.
Health concerns
The Italian government has issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities, including Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Perugia, as well as 10 recommendations for the elderly, sick, and pets to stay indoors during the hottest hours to protect them from extreme heat.
The NBC News reported that the government was put under pressure to protect workers exposed to the extreme heat after a 44-year-old man who was painting road markings collapsed and died in Lodi last week.
In Greece, the government has ordered the suspension of work in the afternoon in locations where the risk of heat stroke is quite high, as well as remote work for private-sector personnel with health issues.
The extreme heat also prompted the closure of the ancient Acropolis during the hottest part of the day to protect tourists.
Forecasters in Spain warned of the potential for forest fires and said it would be difficult to sleep at night, with temperatures unlikely to fall below 25 degrees Celsius across the country.
At least 4,000 people were evacuated as wildfires on the Spanish island of La Palma were out of control.
Heat waves one of the deadliest natural hazards
A recent study shows that nearly 62,000 people died from heat-related illnesses in Europe last year.
Italy has the highest number of fatalities with over 18,000 deaths, followed by Spain with more than 11,000 and Germany with 8,000 deaths.
This data suggests that Europe's current prevention efforts to counter heat waves are not sufficient.
"The fact that more than 61,600 people in Europe died of heat stress in the summer of 2022, even though, unlike in 2003, many countries already had active prevention plans in place, suggests that adaptation strategies currently available may still be insufficient," said Hicham Achebak, a co-author of the study and researcher at ISGlobal
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