United States, Europe and Japan face historic heat waves
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The Acropolis in Athens will remain closed on Sunday to protect visitors and officials. In other areas, such as Spain and Italy, alerts are issued, while in Arizona up to 43 degrees were recorded.
The United States, Europe, Japan and other parts of the world recorded this Saturday (07.15.2023) heat records, forcing the authorities to take drastic measures against the danger posed by extreme temperatures, the latest example of the The threat of climate change, which in other corners of the world shows its face in the form of extreme droughts or floods.
In Italy, the Ministry of Health issued a red alert for several cities in the center of the country. In Rome, the capital, temperatures are projected to be between 36-37 degrees Celsius from Sunday. The mercury may go up over the next few days until it reaches between 42 and 43 degrees on Tuesday. In Spain, meanwhile, the meteorological agency warned about the arrival of a new heat wave between Monday and Wednesday.
France, Germany and Poland are also facing an intense heat wave, while in Greece, the Acropolis of Athens will remain closed in the hottest hours of Sunday, for the third day in a row, a measure that seeks to protect “ workers and visitors”, said the Greek Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, before the possibility that the thermometer reads close to 40 degrees.
54 degrees in California
Since Thursday, when the thermometer began to rise, the Red Cross, deployed at the foot of the Acropolis, distributed more than 50,000 bottles of water and has had to intervene "dozens of times" to help visitors overwhelmed by discomfort, respiratory problems or sunburn. Several parks and green spaces in Athens were also closed on Saturday to urge people to stay in their homes.
In the United States, meanwhile, an intense heat wave extends from California to Texas and a peak in temperatures is expected this weekend. In Arizona there were more than 43 degrees and in California's Death Valley, up to 54 degrees Celsius is expected this Sunday. In Asia, some regions of China, including the capital Beijing, have been experiencing spells of intense heat combined with heavy rain for weeks.
In Japan, the meteorological agency urged the population to take precautions to avoid heat stroke, as temperatures of up to 39 degrees are expected. Globally, last June was the warmest ever recorded, according to the European agency Copernicus and the United States Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the first week of July was the warmest on record so far, according to the Meteorological Organization. (WMO).