Heat Storm Potentially Hits Southern Europe: Health Warning Issued, Highest Temperature Predicted Two Years Past

Illustration of dried grass due to heat waves in Europe. (Wikimedia Commons/Flickr/Alisdare Hickson)

JAKARTA - Italian authorities issued a hot weather warning for 16 cities on Sunday, with meteorologists warning temperatures would reach record highs across southern Europe in the coming days.

Spain, Italy and Greece have experienced scorching temperatures in recent days, damaging agriculture and sending tourists scrambling for shelter.

But a new anticyclone nicknamed Charon, which means 'death miner' in Greek mythology, swept into the region from northern Africa on Sunday and could spike temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Italy earlier this week.

"We need to be prepared for intense heat storms that, day after day, will cover the whole country," Italy's weather news service Meteo.it said on Sunday, reported Reuters July 17.

"In some places previous hot records will be broken," he continued.

Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said people need to be careful when visiting the famous Roman ruins, the Colosseum.

"Going to the Colosseum when it is 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) is not recommended, especially for the elderly," he told Il Messaggero newspaper on Sunday, saying people should stay indoors between 11.00 a.m. and 18.00 p.m. local time.

As well as the Italian capital, health warnings were in place from the city center of Florence to Palermo in Sicily and Bari, while temperatures also started to rise further north.

"It's not normal. I don't remember such intense heat, especially at this time," said Federico Bratti as he sunbathed on Lake Garda.

In Spain, the weather forecasting agency warned of the risk of wildfires, saying it was not easy to sleep at night, with temperatures dropping below 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) unlikely across the country.

The heatwave will intensify from Monday, with temperatures reaching 44C (111.2F) in the Guadalquivir valley near Seville in the south of the country, forecasts predict.

Meanwhile on the Canary Islands of La Palma, Spain, at least 4.000 people had to be evacuated due to out-of-control forest fires following a heatwave, authorities said.

Europe's highest recorded temperature of 48.8C (119.8F), recorded in Sicily two years ago, could be exceeded in the coming days, especially on the Italian island of Sardinia, meteorologists said.