A heat wave engulfing southern Europe is expected to send temperatures to record highs in some areas, prompting officials in Spain, Italy, Greece and elsewhere to impose measures to protect residents and tourists from the scorching conditions.
The latest round of high temperatures, frequently referred to as Cerberus after the multiheaded dog in Greek mythology, has sent thermometers soaring above 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) in the past few days.
And it’s expected to get worse.
Governments are bracing for higher temperatures, issuing alerts to warn residents, in the expectation that things will only get hotter in southern Europe and the Balkans in the coming days, according to meteorological experts.
Though it is difficult to link individual events to climate change, scientists say the heat waves in Europe are increasing in frequency and intensity at a faster rate than practically anywhere else on the planet.
This summer is forecast to be worse than the last because of El Niño, a natural weather pattern forming for the first time in four years, and which has fostered conditions for rising temperatures.
Here’s what you need to know.
How hot will it get?
In Italy, extreme temperatures are expected to hit 104 degrees in Florence and Rome.
On Friday, Spain’s public weather monitor warned that temperatures in the eastern Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, would rise to between 104 and 107 degrees through the first half of next week. Some parts of the country could record even higher heat levels, the State Meteorological Agency said, with the sweltering conditions stretching into next week.
In Greece, temperatures are expected to peak on Friday and Saturday at 109 degrees in the region of Thessaly, northwest of Athens, before subsiding, according to the country’s national meteorological service, which warned that heat wave conditions would persist into next week.
Temperatures were expected to rise across Portugal next week as well, reaching 104 degrees along the coast in the south and 97 degrees in the central and northern regions, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere.
In southern Serbia, temperatures are expected to hit a high of 100 degrees on Sunday.
How are European countries responding?
The deaths of 61,000 people last year could be attributed to the brutal heat in Europe, according to one recent study, with children and older people especially vulnerable to conditions.
After an especially deadly heat wave in 2003, officials in Europe introduced initiatives including warning systems for extreme heat and public cooling spaces. With fears that this year’s heat wave could also prove deadly, officials imposed protective measures this week, advising people to stay indoors where possible and to drink plenty of water.
In Italy, where a worker in the northern part of the country died earlier this week after collapsing while painting some signs in the heat, officials have issued emergency warnings that will be in place for several days.
In Greece, the government has activated emergency measures that include opening public cooling spaces, allowing staff in private companies to work remotely and mandating that workers stop between noon and 5 p.m. where the risk of heat on health is high.
Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.
