The intense heat gripping Europe isn’t ending anytime soon, and according to the European Space Agency’s bulletin, it’s only just begun.
The prolonged temperatures in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland and more countries on the continent are potentially the warmest ever recorded in Europe.
Rome broke records on Tuesday with a high temperature of 108 F, according to Italy’s national weather service. The weather service also issued red alerts for extreme heat across southern Italy, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia with temperatures all above 40C.
Italian meteorologists predict that the brutal heat will continue, especially in the southern half of the country. Antonio Sano of weather service Il Meteo told ABC News that high pressure from Africa in the Mediterranean region is pushing air directly from the Sahara desert, causing the heat wave.
“Today was the hottest day in Rome at 42C. By the end of the week, we expect storms to cool slightly in the north of the country, but temperatures in southern Italy will continue to rise for the foreseeable future,” Sano said . .
The Italian Ministry of Health is asking the regions to increase home care services so that the sick and the elderly do not have to endure the heat and leave their homes. They also installed warming stations in hospitals for emergency cases.
Forecasters predict that historically high temperatures will continue to ravage cities
European cities including Madrid, Seville and Athens reached temperatures above 100 F on Tuesday and also showed no signs of cooling for the rest of the week, according to forecasts.
Extreme European heat linked to climate change
The ESA said this intense heat is due to global warming.
“As climate change takes hold, heat waves like this are likely to become more frequent and more severe, with worse consequences,” the agency said in a bulletin issued Tuesday.
A boy walks by a fountain in Milan, Italy on July 19, 2023.
Luca Bruno/AP
Climate experts warn that this trend of extreme heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere has been increasing since the 1980s and is likely to continue. Dr John Nairn, senior advisor on extreme heat at the World Health Organisation, said the current heat wave in Europe and around the world is directly linked to climate change.
“Climate change is causing the loss of polar ice, which causes the weather pattern to stay in one place,” Nairn said.
Other climatologists agree.
Dr. Kai Kornhuber, a research scientist at Columbia University in New York City, told ABC News that the extreme heat can be attributed to human activities.
“The emission of greenhouse gases directly translates into an increased likelihood of extreme heat weather events,” Kornhuber said Tuesday.
Florian Eberharter of Germany uses a fan to cool off while queuing to enter the Pantheon in Rome, Italy, on July 19, 2023.
Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
He also said circulation patterns have become more stationary, leading to persistent high pressure systems, meaning heat waves last longer and are more severe.
As the relentless heat shows no signs of slowing down, tourists are adjusting their travel plans and daily schedules by staying indoors during the day.
Joe Sheridan, a college student at the University of Richmond in Virginia, just returned from a study abroad program in Seville, Spain. He said daily temperatures were over 100.
“My friends and I didn’t go out much in the middle of the day. Instead, we took advantage of the cooler mornings and afternoons,” Sheridan told ABC News.
Some tourists are canceling their trips to areas affected by the heat. A couple from Killorglin, Ireland, told ABC News they changed a planned trip to Malta.
“We have some health issues and we didn’t want to go into the extreme heat. It wouldn’t be nice for us to stay in the hotel all day,” Norma and Dave Waugh told ABC News. “It’s more comfortable in Ireland at the moment and we can go to Malta when it cools down.”
