Italy and the Balkans felt the impact yesterday of a record-breaking heatwave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across the continent for more than a week, with growing concerns over the spread of wildfires.
Across the Atlantic, the National Weather Service warned of “dangerous heat across much of central and eastern US,” in the days before the July 4 celebrations on Saturday, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“The combination of prolonged daytime heating and limited nighttime relief will increase the risk of heat-related illnesses, especially for vulnerable populations and those without adequate cooling,” the National Weather Service added.
For Western Europe, where temperatures have dipped from record June highs, there was also a warning that the heat was likely to build again next week.
In Italy, 22 cities from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily were covered yesterday by a red heat warning.
Pilgrims at the Vatican used fans to cool themselves and sheltered under umbrellas for shade as Pope Leo delivered his message on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a holiday in the city of Rome.
In Croatia, the weather service issued a red alert yesterday for regions including the capital Zagreb and the tourist destinations of Split and Dubrovnik.
Dozens of firefighters, assisted by four aircraft, battled a wildfire burning pine forests on the tourist island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, some 55km southwest of Split.
In neighbouring Serbia, the State Hydrometeorological Service has warned temperatures would reach 39C yesterday.
Further south, Albania contained a wildfire that has consumed many hectares of bushes and olive trees near the southern village of Klos over the weekend.
The heatwave, which began on June 20, set records for early summer and the blistering conditions disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems. France has reported 1,000 excess deaths blamed on the heatwave. The French public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people and warned the number was expected to rise.
French media reported that funeral homes in Paris and the surrounding area were overwhelmed by the number of bodies they had to deal with. The heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, which has made this week’s soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according to scientists.
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