Deborah Kyvrikosaios and Liliana Salgado report
Athens/Phoenix (Reuters) – Due to Southern Europe has been hit by intense weather, with Greece closing its ancient Acropolis on Friday at its hottest time of the day to protect tourists. heat waves, while more than 100 million Americans also face prolonged periods of sweltering heat.
The European Space Agency (ESA), whose satellites monitor land and ocean temperatures, warned Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland were all facing extreme conditions.
Next week temperatures could break current European records – 43.8C Sicily August record2021.
Italian meteorologists are calling the next phase of the European heat wave “Charon” – a reference to the Greek mythology of the ferryman of the souls of the dead. Following this week’s Cerberus, named after the three-headed dog.
The world recorded its hottest day on record last week, which scientists blamed on the combined effects of long-term global warming. El Niño, a common pattern of warm weather originating in the Pacific Ocean, increases greenhouse gas emissions in the short term.
Deaths, burns and dehydration
Hot summers have become the norm in many parts of the American Southwest, and extreme temperatures are expected to break records in the coming days.
Phoenix, Arizona has already occurred 15 for several consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius), with a mobile clinic treating homeless people with third-degree burns and severe dehydration.
The impact of extreme summer heat has been brought into focus this week by a study that said last summer there could have been 61, people died of extreme heat.
Joan Ballester, a professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, said France had learned lessons from deadly heatwaves in countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal.
“Some measures are relatively cheap, such as coordinating public entities to conduct censuses of vulnerable populations,” said Ballester, a co-author of this week’s study.
“But there are more expensive measures, such as redesigning cities to improve housing conditions,” he told Reuters.
The Acropolis is not what it is now
In Athens, as the temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius Above, the authorities closed the Acropolis Hill, home to the Parthenon, which is visited by millions of tourists every year from noon to 5pm (1400 GMT- 0900 GMT).
Huge crowds had formed earlier on in the heat and long queues entered the scene, many wearing hats and fans, others carrying umbrellas Drink water. The mountain becomes especially suffocating due to its high altitude and lack of shade.
A woman sitting on the ground was treated by paramedics after feeling fainted. Others were brought down Acropolis Hill in golf carts and transferred to wheelchairs.
Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry warned of the risk of forest fires in five regions and told people to avoid tasks such as burning weeds. Fear of starting a fire. Wildfires have also hit parts of Croatia near the Adriatic coast.
Poor older adults with existing health problems are most at risk, doctors have warned.
“They suffer from heart problems, chronic bronchitis, strokes, kidney failure,” Angel Abad of the Sustainability Office at La Paz Hospital in Madrid ( Angel Abad) said.
“Most people have lower health status,” Abad, an expert in preventive medicine and public health, added: “We know that people without air conditioning are more vulnerable to socioeconomic background in these situations.” Influence. They face higher risks and higher mortality rates when they reach the emergency room. ”
