The Lucifer heatwave continues to dominate with its high pressure over the fire-stricken Mediterranean countries. On Thursday, new warnings of high fire risk were issued in Spain and Portugal – and in Tunisia, children have died of thirst.
“We are not spared from this danger,” says Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain.
The high pressure, which in Italy has been named Lucifer, lies heavily over the Mediterranean.
Temperatures around or above 40 degrees Celsius were recorded in both Italy and Spain on Thursday. Forest fires continue to rage in several countries – while the record heat is also leading to deaths from dehydration.
In Syracuse, Sicily, local weather authorities have measured 48.8 degrees Celsius. If the record is correct, it is the hottest temperature ever in Europe. In Sardinia it is 40 degrees Celsius and in Rome the temperature is 38 degrees Celsius.
At the Colosseum, volunteers handed out hundreds of bottles of water to visitors.
"I drink a lot of water, more water, more water," Hank Heerat, a tourist from the Netherlands, told the AP.
Elderly at risk
In Spain, the fire risk is considered high in all but three of Spain's 17 regions. For the first time in over 100 years, temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius have been recorded for three consecutive days in Madrid - and there are warnings of even higher temperatures. The national weather service says it could reach 44 degrees Celsius in some areas in the coming days.
– Temperatures this high increase the risk of needing hospital care, in some cases the heat can even lead to death, says Hicham Acheback, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, to El País.
He believes that the elderly and sick are especially vulnerable, but that simple measures such as drinking plenty of water and staying indoors are effective.
In Portugal, warnings were issued in the central and northern parts of the country, while the southern tourist region of Algarve was assessed to have the highest possible risk of forest fires.
Still difficult in Greece
After nearly two weeks of widespread wildfires, the situation in Greece remains grim, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis describing the fires as the worst ecological disaster the island nation has faced in decades.
At least three people have died, hundreds have been left homeless and thousands have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fires.
– The climate crisis is here, says Mitsotakis.
Four children found dead in the desert
The situation is even worse on the other side of the Mediterranean. Six migrants, including four children, have died of thirst in Tunisia's part of the Sahara Desert near the border with Algeria, according to reports from the AP. In Tunisia, temperatures reached a record high of 50 degrees on Wednesday, according to the national weather service.
And the death toll continues to rise in Algeria, where a national mourning has been declared. At least 69 people have now died in the fires raging in the north of the country, state television reports.
Source: svt.se
