Heat wave spreads in southern Europe

"We were supposed to visit the Colosseum, but my mother almost fainted": from Rome to Milan, and throughout southern Europe, the heat wave intensified again on Sunday, with no immediate relief in sight.

Peaks of 43 degrees are expected in certain areas of southern Spain and Portugal, and almost all of France is suffering from stifling heat expected to last several more days.

By Saturday, Spain had already recorded a record, pending confirmation, since the beginning of the records, with 46°C in Granado, Andalusia (southwest). The previous peak was 45.2°C in Seville in June 1965. Record in the water too: the Mediterranean exceeds 26°C in the Balearic Islands, a threshold "typical of mid-August," according to the national meteorological agency Aemet. In Italy, 21 cities were on maximum alert Sunday for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence, and Rome, where ambulances are stationed near tourist sites.

So no Colosseum visit for British tourist Anna Becker and her mother...

Italian hospital emergency services reported a 10% increase in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino, vice-president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, "mainly in cities that not only record very high temperatures but also a higher humidity rate." 

Main victims: "the elderly, cancer patients, or the homeless suffering from dehydration, heatstroke, fatigue," he told AFP. Some hospitals, such as the Ospedale dei Colli in Naples, have even set up dedicated heatstroke pathways to speed up access to essential treatments like cold-water immersion, he added.

In Venice, free guided tours for those over 75 in air-conditioned museums and public buildings and in Rome, free swimming pools for those over 70. In Italy again, "climatic shelters" have been installed in Bologna, and dehumidifiers distributed to the needy in Ancona. 

"Heat waves in the Mediterranean region have become more frequent and intense in recent years, with peaks reaching 37 degrees or even more in cities, where the urban heat island effect further increases temperatures," notes Emanuel Piervitali, researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

According to scientists, recurring heatwaves are an unequivocal marker of global warming and these heatwaves are expected to multiply, lengthen, and intensify further. According to the IPCC, the UN's climate experts group, it is "almost certain" that the frequency and intensity of extreme heat and the duration of heatwaves have increased since 1950 and will continue to increase with warming.

Peak 'around Tuesday or Wednesday' in France

In Portugal, several areas of the southern half of the country, including the capital Lisbon, are on red alert until Monday night due to "extremely high persistent maximum temperature values," according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). The risk of fire is also at its maximum, as in Sicily where firefighters battled 15 fires on Saturday.

France is not spared by the heat wave which began on Friday. Of the country's 95 departments, 73 departments have been placed on orange alert and peaks of 40°C are expected in the southern Mediterranean. Only the English Channel coast (north) will record temperatures below 30°C, according to meteorologists.

But Météo-France has already warned that temperatures will rise again on Monday, except on the Mediterranean coast where they will remain stable. The peak, during which maximums of 39°C to 40°C will be "quite frequent," would be reached "around Tuesday or Wednesday depending on the regions." Among other consequences, some schools may be temporarily closed on Monday, and a beach in Brittany is off-limits due to exceeding the threshold of toxic gas from rotting green algae washed ashore. 

As for biodiversity, "with this stifling heat, the temperature can exceed 40 degrees in some nests. We are rescuing struggling birds everywhere. Our seven care centers are overwhelmed," warns Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) to AFP.