Temperatures reached new highs on Monday as heatwaves and wildfires scorched parts of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 children close to a Greek seaside resort.
Health authorities have sounded alarms from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and shelter from the burning sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming.
Near Athens, a forest fire flared in strong winds by the popular beach town of Loutraki where the mayor said holiday camps for youngsters had come under threat.
“We have saved 1,200 children who were in the holiday camps,” said mayor Giorgos Gkionis.
Greek police arrested a foreign man suspected of starting another of the ongoing wildfires, in Kouvaras, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Athens, fire service spokesman Yannis Artopios said.
Europe, the globe’s fastest-warming continent, was bracing for its hottest-ever temperature on Italy’s islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where a high of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) is predicted, according to the European Space Agency.
The United Nations validated the European heat record of 48.8C set in Sicily in 2021.
“The extreme weather — an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate — is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
“This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”
‘We thought we’d escape’
In Rome, American Colman Peavy could not believe the heat as he sipped a cappuccino at a cafe with his wife Ana at the start of a two-week vacation.
“We’re from Texas and it’s really hot there, we thought we would escape the heat but it’s even hotter here,” said the 30-year-old.
It was already the world’s hottest June on record, according to the EU weather monitoring service, and July looks to be readying to challenge its own record.
China reported a new high for mid-July in the northwest of the country, where temperatures reached 52.2C in the Xinjiang region’s village of Sanbao, breaking the previous high of 50.6C set six years ago.
In nearby Turpan city, where ground surface temperatures sizzled at 80C in some parts, authorities have told workers and students to stay home and ordered special vehicles to spray water on major thoroughfares, the weather body said.
In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40C through Thursday, a 90-year-old man died as a result of heatstroke and three other seniors were hospitalised, health officials said.
In the Turkish-held north of the island, building worker Achebe Chimeka, aged 27, was still toiling outside.
He may be used to the sun, but admitted “It’s very intense heat. It feels like my brain is going to stop.
“Some bosses don’t follow the rules but we don’t want to complain for fear of losing our jobs,” he said.
‘Oppressive’ US heat
In Japan, heatstroke alerts were issued in 32 out of the country’s 47 prefectures, mainly in central and southwestern regions.
At least 60 people in Japan were treated for heatstroke, local media reported, including 51 who were taken to hospital in Tokyo.
In western and southern US states, which are used to high temperatures, more than 80 million people were under advisories as a “widespread and oppressive” heatwave roasted the region.
California’s Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, reached a near-record 52C Sunday afternoon.
In Arizona, state capital Phoenix recorded its 17th straight day above 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), as temperatures hit 113F on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re used to 110, 112 (degrees Fahrenheit)… But not the streaks,” Nancy Leonard, a 64-year-old retiree from the nearby suburb of Peoria, told AFP. “You just have to adapt.”
Historic highs forecast
In Europe, Italians were warned to prepare for “the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time”, with the health ministry sounding a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.
In Rome, temperatures hit 39C on Tuesday, narrowly missing the record of 40.5C set in August 2007.
Nevertheless, visitors thronged to tourist hot spots like the Colosseum and the Vatican.
“I’m from South Africa. We’re used to this heat,” said Jacob Vreunissen, 60, a civil engineer from Cape Town. “You have to drink lots of water, obviously wear your hat and that’s about it.”
In Romania, temperatures are expected to reach 39C on Monday.
Little reprieve is forecast for Spain, where meteorologists warned of “abnormally high” temperatures on Monday, including up to 44C in the southern Andalusia region in what would be a regional record.
Along with the heat, parts of Asia have also been battered by torrential rain.
South Korea’s president vowed Monday to “completely overhaul” the country’s approach to extreme weather, after at least 40 people were killed in recent flooding and landslides during monsoon rains, which are forecast to continue through Wednesday.
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