Heatwaves scorch southern, eastern Europe

PARIS: Unrelenting heat is blanketing swathes of southern and eastern Europe, with dozens of cities on red alert as scorching temperatures fuel wildfires, strain power grids, and make daily life unbearable.

There was no let up Thursday as the mercury again hovered near or above 40 degrees Celsius in many countries, with worse expected in the coming days. Europe is no stranger to baking summer spells but climate change is making heatwaves longer, stronger and more frequent, sustaining dangerously high temperatures even at night.

Greece, which recorded its earliest-ever heatwave this summer, withered through its 11th-straight day above 40C on Thursday.

Nights in the capital Athens have hit 30C as heat rolls unbroken from one day to the next.

In Italy, zoo keepers gave animals ice blocks to ward off heat stroke as temperatures soared, while 14 cities including Florence, Palermo and Bologna were placed on red alert.

To make matters worse, swarms of locusts thriving in the hot conditions have invaded fields and orchards in the eastern region of Emilia Romagna.

In Hungary, which has been under a maximum heat warning since July 7, searing temperatures have warped an airport runway while the state-run train operator urged passengers to take air-conditioned buses instead of its outdated rail cars.

Croatia and Serbia this week consumed a record amount of electricity as residents switched on air conditioners to beat the heat.

In Romania, gripped by a heatwave since Saturday, evening temperature records have tumbled as blistering daytime highs have carried into long, suffocating nights.

The EU’s climate monitor Copernicus said the average temperature for June across Europe was 1.57C above the 1991-2020 average, making the month the joint-second warmest on record.