With the worst of the heat yet to come, a surge of hot air from Africa burned southern Europe and the Balkans, sending temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). On Tuesday, the Italian health ministry issued the highest severe heat warning, covering 12 towns.
At the southern walled city of Dubrovnik, the most visited tourist destination in Croatia, the thermometer registered around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest temperatures ever recorded in the Adriatic Sea. The usage of air conditioning led to record consumption in Serbia, according to the national power company’s report on Tuesday.
As requests for water-dropping aircraft, like Canadairs, to put out flames raging in southern Italy and North Macedonia were received by civil defense workers, municipal authorities in numerous places in southern Europe and the Balkans took special steps to care for the elderly.
“It’s unbearably hot,” said Carmen Díaz, a Madrid visitor attempting to stay cool over lunch in Rome, holding a fan. “It’s hot, but these fans help a little too.”
Public areas with air conditioning were made accessible by municipalities in Greece. It was forbidden to do some outside jobs, including building, delivery, and physical labor, while it was 40 degrees Celsius outside.
In other regions, temperatures were predicted to reach 42 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday. In the next few days, temperatures in the southern Guadalquivir river basin might rise to 44 C, according to Spain’s national meteorological service.
When temperatures are predicted to reach 38 C later this week, Rome’s zoo intends to provide popsicle relief for the animals as a way to combat the heat.
There were no such cool delights for the throngs of people who attended this week’s Coldplay performances in the Eternal City.
Arriving in Rome from Varese for the band’s last show on Tuesday night, Patrizia Valerio said, “It really feels like we are in an oven with a hair dryer pointed at us.”
Another concertgoer Mattia Rossi was more somber, pointing out that the unusual storms that struck Italy earlier in the summer were proof positive that climate change was seriously disrupting the weather systems in the southern Mediterranean.
“In my opinion, these are all signs of a planet in distress,” Rossi said.
The 72-year-old man was discovered dead at his farm in Memaliaj, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital Tirana, in Albania, where temperatures were predicted to reach 42 C. It is thought that the heat was the cause of the death, according to the local Panorama site. Health officials could not provide an instant confirmation.
In Tirana proper, the few people walking about were using umbrellas to shade themselves, and the streets and cafés were almost deserted. In recent weeks, winds and high temperatures have been fueling wildfires from the south to the north.
The Istanbul municipality issued a heat warning on Tuesday, recommending citizens—especially the elderly, pregnant women, children, and those with health issues—to avoid stepping outside between 10 am and 4 pm, despite the relatively low 34 C temperatures. Until July 28, temperatures in Istanbul are predicted to be 3 to 6 degrees above seasonal averages. The alert recommended citizens stay hydrated and wear lightweight or cotton clothes.
Sami Gunaydin, a 62-year-old retiree swimming in the Bosporus on Tuesday, said, “We always come here to cool off. It’s usually windy here, like natural air conditioning.” “May God provide comfort to those without air conditioning.”
North Macedonia saw a heatwave with highs of 42 C for the second time this month. Since the month’s commencement, there have been around 200 wildfires throughout the nation, injuring one fireman so far. A one-month state of crisis has been proclaimed by the administration.
It’s the second week that temperatures in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia have been over 40 degrees Celsius; Mostar, in Bosnia, has seen that high for six days running. The heat wave was predicted by meteorologists to peak on Tuesday and gradually subside by the end of the week.
A severe heatwave has also affected neighboring Moldova and Romania during the last week, with highs of over 40 degrees Celsius recorded in the capital cities of Chisinau and Bucharest, respectively.
The Italian civil protection agency said that on Monday, it received eighteen requests for assistance in putting out flames that were raging throughout multiple southern provinces.
The health ministry issued a red alert heat warning, the highest level of heat emergency, for 12 towns, ranging from Trieste in the north to Rome in the center. Everyone is advised to remain indoors during the warmest periods of the day in cities under such warnings, not only the elderly or small children, and to refrain from large meals and excessive outdoor activities.
According to the health ministry, Palermo, Sicily, was scheduled to be added to the list of red-bulletin towns on Wednesday.
A heat wave that was predicted to linger till the end of the week was also suffocating most of Greece, with some regions seeing temperatures as high as 42 C. It was anticipated that the heat wave would peak on Wednesday and Thursday, mostly impacting Greece’s central, western, and northern areas, where temperatures might reach 43 degrees Celsius.
Paris, which is scheduled to host the Olympics later this month, has so far escaped the terrible heat wave that is sweeping over southern Europe. Tuesday’s temperatures were a rather cool 22 degrees Celsius, but it was predicted that they would climb later in the week before dropping once again after the weekend.