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ROME: More temperature records are expected to falter on Tuesday as Europe awaits the peak of a sweltering heat wave and wildfires that have scorched swathes of the northern hemisphere, forcing 1,200 children near a Greek seaside resort to die.
Health authorities have sounded alarm bells from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and protect from the scorching sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming.
Europe, the world’s fastest-rising continent, was bracing for its hottest temperature ever in the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, with the European Space Agency forecasting a high of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).
Near Athens, a forest fire raged with high winds in the popular beach town of Loutraki, where the mayor said holiday camps for little ones were under threat.
“We rescued 1,200 children who were in holiday camps,” said Mayor Giorgos Gekionis.
Emergency services are also battling wildfires in Kouvaras and the resorts of Lagonissi, Anavisos and Saronida near Athens. Several homes in the area were burned, according to footage broadcast by public broadcaster ERT.
“Extreme weather…has a significant impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” said Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“This underscores the increasingly urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and deeply as possible.”
In Europe, Italians have been warned to prepare for “the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the fiercest on record” as temperatures reached nearly 39C in Rome on Monday.
American Coleman Peevey couldn’t believe the heat as he sipped a cappuccino at a café with his wife Anna at the start of a two-week vacation.
“We’re from Texas and it’s really hot there,” the 30-year-old said. “We thought we’d escape the heat but it’s even hotter here.”
It was already the hottest June on record in the world, according to the European Union’s weather monitoring service, and it looks like July could break records too.
Spain enjoyed a little respite, with temperatures reaching 47C in the southern town of Villarrobledo.
In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40C through Thursday, a 90-year-old man died as a result of heatstroke and three other elderly people were hospitalized, according to health officials.
Parts of Asia experienced record temperatures, bringing heavy rains.
China set a new high in mid-July in the country’s northwest, with temperatures reaching 52.2C in Sanbao village, Xinjiang region, surpassing the previous high of 50.6C six years ago.
Heatstroke warnings were issued in 32 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, most of them in the central and southwestern regions.
Media reported that at least 60 people were treated for heatstroke, including 51 who were taken to a hospital in Tokyo.
A quarter of a million people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam before a major typhoon slammed ashore late Monday, bringing strong winds and rain and canceling hundreds of flights and trains.
US climate envoy John Kerry held talks with Chinese officials in Beijing on Tuesday, as the world’s two biggest polluters restarted stalled diplomacy on cutting greenhouse emissions.
Speaking in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday, Kerry stressed the need for “global leadership” on climate issues.
In the western and southern states of the United States, accustomed to soaring temperatures, more than 80 million people have succumbed to warnings as a “widespread and unjust” heat wave swept across the region.
Death Valley in California, often among the hottest places on earth, reached nearly 52 degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon.
In Arizona, the state capital Phoenix set its record of 18 consecutive days above 43C (109F), with temperatures reaching 45C (113F) early Monday afternoon.
The US National Weather Service expects similar highs at least through Sunday, while warning of overnight lows remain dangerously high, above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).
“We’re used to 110 and 112 (degrees Fahrenheit) … but not the lines,” Nancy Leonard, 64, a retiree from the nearby suburb of Peoria, told AFP. “You just have to adapt.”
In Southern California, several wildfires have broken out over the past few days in rural areas east of Los Angeles.
The largest, the Rabbit Fire, has burned nearly 8,000 acres and was 35 percent contained Monday morning, according to authorities.
There were 882 wildfires burning on Monday, including 579 that were out of control, neighboring Canadian authorities said.
Smoke from the fires has returned to the US again, prompting air quality alerts across much of the Northeast.
Health authorities have sounded alarm bells from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and protect from the scorching sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming.
Europe, the world’s fastest-rising continent, was bracing for its hottest temperature ever in the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, with the European Space Agency forecasting a high of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).
Near Athens, a forest fire raged with high winds in the popular beach town of Loutraki, where the mayor said holiday camps for little ones were under threat.
“We rescued 1,200 children who were in holiday camps,” said Mayor Giorgos Gekionis.
Emergency services are also battling wildfires in Kouvaras and the resorts of Lagonissi, Anavisos and Saronida near Athens. Several homes in the area were burned, according to footage broadcast by public broadcaster ERT.
“Extreme weather…has a significant impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” said Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“This underscores the increasingly urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and deeply as possible.”
In Europe, Italians have been warned to prepare for “the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the fiercest on record” as temperatures reached nearly 39C in Rome on Monday.
American Coleman Peevey couldn’t believe the heat as he sipped a cappuccino at a café with his wife Anna at the start of a two-week vacation.
“We’re from Texas and it’s really hot there,” the 30-year-old said. “We thought we’d escape the heat but it’s even hotter here.”
It was already the hottest June on record in the world, according to the European Union’s weather monitoring service, and it looks like July could break records too.
Spain enjoyed a little respite, with temperatures reaching 47C in the southern town of Villarrobledo.
In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40C through Thursday, a 90-year-old man died as a result of heatstroke and three other elderly people were hospitalized, according to health officials.
Parts of Asia experienced record temperatures, bringing heavy rains.
China set a new high in mid-July in the country’s northwest, with temperatures reaching 52.2C in Sanbao village, Xinjiang region, surpassing the previous high of 50.6C six years ago.
Heatstroke warnings were issued in 32 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, most of them in the central and southwestern regions.
Media reported that at least 60 people were treated for heatstroke, including 51 who were taken to a hospital in Tokyo.
A quarter of a million people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam before a major typhoon slammed ashore late Monday, bringing strong winds and rain and canceling hundreds of flights and trains.
US climate envoy John Kerry held talks with Chinese officials in Beijing on Tuesday, as the world’s two biggest polluters restarted stalled diplomacy on cutting greenhouse emissions.
Speaking in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday, Kerry stressed the need for “global leadership” on climate issues.
In the western and southern states of the United States, accustomed to soaring temperatures, more than 80 million people have succumbed to warnings as a “widespread and unjust” heat wave swept across the region.
Death Valley in California, often among the hottest places on earth, reached nearly 52 degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon.
In Arizona, the state capital Phoenix set its record of 18 consecutive days above 43C (109F), with temperatures reaching 45C (113F) early Monday afternoon.
The US National Weather Service expects similar highs at least through Sunday, while warning of overnight lows remain dangerously high, above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).
“We’re used to 110 and 112 (degrees Fahrenheit) … but not the lines,” Nancy Leonard, 64, a retiree from the nearby suburb of Peoria, told AFP. “You just have to adapt.”
In Southern California, several wildfires have broken out over the past few days in rural areas east of Los Angeles.
The largest, the Rabbit Fire, has burned nearly 8,000 acres and was 35 percent contained Monday morning, according to authorities.
There were 882 wildfires burning on Monday, including 579 that were out of control, neighboring Canadian authorities said.
Smoke from the fires has returned to the US again, prompting air quality alerts across much of the Northeast.
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