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14-07-2023
MADRID/ PARIS: A heatwave is sweeping across parts of southern Europe and north-west Africa, with potential record-breaking temperatures in the coming days.
Temperatures are expected to surpass 40C (104F) in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey.
In Italy, temperatures could reach as high as 48.8C (119.8F). A red alert warning has been issued for 10 cities, including Rome, Bologna and Florence.
On Tuesday, a man in his forties died after collapsing in northern Italy.
Italian media reported that the 44-year-old worker was painting zebra crossing lines in the town of Lodi, near Milan, before he collapsed from the heat. He was taken to hospital where he later died.
“We are facing an unbearable heatwave,” Italian politician Nicola Fratoianni tweeted.
“Maybe it’s the case that in the hottest hours, all the useful precautions are taken to avoid tragedies like the one that happened today in Lodi.”
People have been advised to drink at least two litres of water a day and to avoid coffee and alcohol, which are dehydrating.
One group of tourists on the streets of Rome told the Reuters news agency they were using sprinklers and thermal water as part of efforts to keep themselves cool.
“We’re trying to survive,” said Mariko Desso, who was visiting from the southern city of Bari.
Several visitors to the country have already collapsed from heatstroke, including a British man outside the Colosseum in Rome.
The Cerberus heatwave – 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 next few days
Spain has been sweltering for days in temperatures of up to 45C and overnight temperatures in much of the country did not drop below 25C. Parts of Majorca on Wednesday were as high as 37C at 04:00.
The Andalusian regional government has started a telephone assistance service for people affected by the heat which has received 54,000 calls since it opened in early June. On the Spanish island of Majorca, the emergency health hotline has had to deal with more than one case of heatstroke every day since May.
A satellite image recorded by the EU’s Copernicus Sentinel mission revealed that the land temperature in the Extremadura region had hit 60C on Tuesday. (Int’l News Desk)
