Italy Might Have Registered Europe’s Highest Temperature on Record
The Italian island of Sicily may have registered the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe – 48.8C (119.8F)
Regional authorities reported the reading, which the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) needs to verify, near Syracuse on Wednesday.
According to the WMO, the present official record in Europe is 48ºC, registered in Athens, Greece, in 1977.
The recent heatwave in Italy is being triggered by an anticyclone – nicknamed Lucifer – moving up from Africa. Anticyclones are areas of high atmospheric pressure where the air is sinking.
Lucifer is forecast to head north throughout mainland Italy, further increasing temperatures in cities including Rome, Italy’s capital.
Italy’s health ministry released “red” alerts for extreme heat in several regions. The amount of cities that encounter the highest health risk is expected to increase from 8 to 15 by August 13.
The Mediterranean heatwave, which caused some nations to record their highest temperatures in years, has spread wildfires throughout southern Italy, with Sicily, Calabria, and Puglia the most affected areas.
On August 11, Italian firefighters stated they had been involved in over 300 operations in Sicily and Calabria over 12 hours, battling through the night to control flames burning thousands of acres of land.
The Italian media reported three fire-related fatalities – two in Calabria and one in Sicily.
Wildfires: How are they linked to climate change?
Separately, wildfires are proceeding across Greece, sustained by strong winds and arid vegetation. Foreign teams are dealing with blazes in what Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a “nightmarish summer.”
Climate change raises the risk of the hot, dry weather that is most likely to fuel wildfires.
The globe’s temperature has increased by 1.2 C since the industrial period started, and temperature levels will undoubtedly continue to rise unless governments worldwide make drastic cuts to emissions.
Read the original article on BBC.
Read more: Satellite Telemetry Data Reveals Narwhals Modifying Seasonal Migration Patterns in Response to Climate Change.
