Southern Europe is scorching hot

2025-06-29 09:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Health and fire warnings have been issued across southern European countries, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in some places over the weekend.

Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal are among the countries affected - with the Spanish city of Seville predicted to reach 42 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Hot air from North Africa, which is spreading across the Balkans towards tourist destinations like Croatia, is contributing to the high temperatures.

BBC Weather says the heatwave is "very intense" for this time of year - with the continent normally experiencing such high temperatures in July and early August.

In Spain, emergency staff have been put on alert to deal with a rise in cases of heatstroke, particularly among vulnerable people, including children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

"It's always very hot in Madrid, what surprises me is how early it's happening - it's still June," Marina, 22, told Reuters news agency in the Spanish capital.

"This year is extreme. Last year, you could at least go out at this hour, but now? Not at all. It's intense and people are drinking more water," said Janeth, 47.

Italian authorities are advising residents in several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice - where several A-list celebrities have gathered for the wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and TV presenter Lauren Sanchez - to stay indoors between 11am and 6pm local time.

"There's no wind, it's very humid, we're sweating and I'm suffocating at night," Alejandra Echeverria, a 40-year-old Mexican tourist in Venice, told AFP.

Meanwhile, France has been experiencing a heatwave for more than a week. Orange heat alerts, the country's second highest warning, were issued for southern regions on Friday.

In the city of Marseille, municipal swimming pools are opening for free until the end of the heatwave, while in some places there have been calls for schools to close to protect the health of students.

Yellow warnings are also in place for parts of England this weekend, and temperatures in London could reach 35 degrees Celsius on Monday. The heatwave is expected to last until Tuesday evening.

The fires have already hit parts of Europe, including Greece, where coastal towns near the capital Athens burst into flames, forcing people to evacuate.

While it is difficult to link individual extreme weather events to climate change, heat waves are becoming more common and intense due to climate change.

Scientists at World Weather Attribution, which analyses the impact of climate change on extreme weather events, say June heatwaves with three consecutive days above 28 degrees Celsius are about 10 times more likely to occur now compared to pre-industrial times./ CNA