PARIS, July 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — 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 Florence and Rome.
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.
Several tourists in the country have already collapsed due to heat stroke, 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.
The heat is likely to continue into the weekend, and in Prague, the Czech capital, temperatures could reach as high as 36C (96.8F) on Saturday.
Europe’s hottest ever temperature of 48.8C (119.8F) was recorded near Syracuse on the Italian island of Sicily in August 2021.
More than 60,000 people died in Europe as a result of the heat last year. The fear is that this heatwave could cause many more deaths this summer.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather forecasts said that globally, this June was the hottest on record. — NNN-AGENCIES
