3 days Ago
The heat is becoming particularly intense in southern Spain, where the town of El Granado reached a record temperature of 46°C on Saturday — the highest temperature ever recorded in the country in June, according to Spain’s national weather service. This June is also poised to be the hottest on record.
Temperatures in Seville and surrounding areas are soaring into the mid-40s Celsius, and health officials are issuing urgent public warnings. Red warnings for heatwave conditions have been issued for Portugal, Italy, and Croatia while amber warnings stand in place for larger parts of France, Spain, and Belgium, as well as swathes of Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Heat-related deaths and Emergencies Increase
In Barcelona, a woman was hospitalized in critical condition and later died after clearing a road as a sweeper during the hottest hours of the day. Her death is being investigated, and it came on a day of extreme heat.
In Italy, emergency rooms have seen an escalation in cases of heatstroke, particularly among at-risk populations like the elderly, cancer sufferers, and the homeless. Hospitals such as Ospedale dei Colli in Naples have prepared special units to treat heatstroke as a way to provide a more immediate medical response, including cold-water immersion therapy.
Bologna has opened seven public cooling points with air conditioning and drinking water, and Rome said its residents aged 70 and over could swim for free. In Lisbon, where people have been warned to avoid the sun during peak hours, some cases of heatstroke and even sunburn were reported.
In the western Balkans, Sizzling temperatures have settled over countries such as Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia. Serbia registered its highest temperature in recorded history, dating back centuries to the 1800s. Slovenia also saw its warmest June day on Saturday. North Macedonia registered 42°C on Friday.
Heatwave to Intensify Across Europe
The extreme heat is forecast to climb even higher through at least mid-week, and additional areas should brace for extreme conditions. Elevated temperatures are predicted in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Temperatures in London could rise to 35°C by Monday, prompting yellow and amber heat warnings in England.
Meteorologists say the sustained heat is the result of a big high-pressure system that has been pushing hot, dry air down to the ground and warming it up a degree or two every day. This system is moving east, taking the extreme heat with it farther north and east through Europe.
It is difficult to pin any one event directly on climate change, but it is well established that climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and severe, scientists say. Studies demonstrate that June heatwaves of at least three consecutive days when the temperature exceeds 28°C have become around 10 times more likely than they were in pre-industrial times.
Officials are still warning people to keep cool as no reprieve from the extreme heat is currently in sight.
