The ‘heat storm’ extends to southern Europe, health alerts are issued

ROME, July 16 (Reuters) – Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, with forecasters warning that temperatures will reach record levels in southern Europe in the coming days.

Spain, Italy and Greece have already been experiencing searing temperatures for several days, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists running for shade.

But a new high cyclone named Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, entered the region from North Africa on Sunday and could push temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of Italy. earlier this week.

“We need to prepare for a strong heat storm that, day after day, will cover the whole country,” the Italian weather service Meteo.it warned on Sunday.

“Old heat records will be broken in some places.”

Greece closed the old Acropolis during the hottest part of the day on Friday to protect tourists.

Italy’s Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said people should be careful when visiting Rome’s famous ruins.

“Going to the Colosseum when it’s 43 °C (109.4 °F) is not recommended, especially for an elderly person,” he told Il Messaggero newspaper on Sunday, saying people should stay inside between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

DEHYDRATION

In addition to the Italian capital, there were health alerts from the central city of Florence to Palermo in Sicily and Bari in the southeast of the peninsula, while temperatures also began to rise further north.

“This is not normal. I don’t remember such intense heat, especially at this time of year,” said Federico Bratti, sunbathing on Lake Garda.

In Spain, forecasters warned of the risk of forest fires and said it would not be easy to sleep through the night as temperatures are unlikely to drop below 25°C (77°F) across the country.

The heat wave will intensify from Monday, with temperatures reaching 44 °C (111.2 °F) in the Guadalquivir valley near Seville in the south of the country, forecasters forecast.

Meanwhile, on the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canaries, at least 4,000 people had to be evacuated as Forest fire burned out of control after a heat wave, authorities said.

Europe’s highest recorded temperature of 48.8°C (119.8°F), recorded in Sicily two years ago, could be exceeded in the coming days, especially on the Italian island of Sardinia, forecasters said.

The heat wave has spread across the Mediterranean to Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was hospitalized on Saturday suffering from dizziness and apparent dehydration. He was released on Sunday.

“I ask everyone to spend less time in the sun, drink more water, and may we all have a good new week,” he said.

The United States was also in the grip of high temperatureswith nearly a quarter of the population under extreme heat warnings, from the Pacific Northwest, through California, through the Southwest and into the Deep South and Florida.

Reporting by Crispian Balmer in Rome, Alex Fraser on Lake Garda and Graham Keeley in Barcelona Editing by David Goodman and Frances Kerry

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