2023-07-13 03:05:00
People seek to cool off as temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius in Rome, Italy on March 10./Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
2023.07.13 Thu posted at 12:05 JST
(CNN) A brutal heat wave is hitting Italy. In some areas, it is possible that the temperature will exceed 45 degrees and become a record heat wave.
The Italian Meteorological Association has named the heat wave “Cerberus” after the three-headed beast that appears in Dante’s “Divine Comedy” as the watchdog of hell. “The Earth is heating up and Italy is feeling it firsthand.” The association’s Luca Mercari told CNN.
There have been deaths due to heat waves. In Lodi, northern Italy, a 44-year-old construction worker collapsed on the side of a road and died in hospital on Saturday.
In Rome, the capital city, tourists fell down from heatstroke one after another from the 11th to the 12th. Among them, one British tourist lost consciousness in front of the Colosseum on the 11th.
The heat wave over Europe is caused by the “heat dome” phenomenon, in which a high pressure system stays in the same place for a long time and traps hot air.
Very hot temperatures are expected in central and southern Italy on Monday, with Rome likely to reach an all-time high of 40-45 degrees Celsius. Italy’s health ministry this week issued a red alert (meaning “mortal danger”) to 27 cities, including Rome, Florence and Bologna.
Heatwaves killed 661,672 people in Europe last year, according to a report published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday. Italy had the highest number of deaths, at about 18,000.
Vulnerable groups without air conditioning are at particular risk, Mercari said. Less than 10% of European homes have air conditioning.
Tourists line up to enter the Pantheon in Rome, Italy
Humidity is also expected to rise across Italy, with the government urging people to stay indoors, drink water and limit alcohol consumption.
Businesses have been instructed not to let their employees work outdoors between noon and 5 p.m. for the next two weeks. Children’s summer camps have been canceled.
Cities with a large number of tourists, such as Rome, have set up cooling stations around major tourist spots, with staff on standby to deal with heatstroke.
A man washes his face in a public fountain in Sardinia, Italy, on May 11./Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images
From the 14th, the heat wave is expected to become even more severe. From this day onwards, Cerberus will be replaced by the new Front Line “Karon”. Charon is a ferryman in Greek mythology who transports the dead through the gates of hell.
Temperatures are expected to rise further over the next week, possibly approaching the all-time European record of 48.8 degrees Celsius set in Sicily on August 11, 2021.
In Europe, France, Germany and Spain are also covered in heatwaves. Spain’s meteorological agency warned on Thursday that temperatures could reach 44 degrees in some places.
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