One Dies, Tourists Slump As Deadly Heatwaves Hit Spain, France, Others

In what will come across as a really troubling development, a serious heatwave is now sweeping across parts of southern Europe and north-west Africa.

The heat wave is causing damage, with potential record-breaking temperatures in the coming days, BBC reports.

Temperatures are expected to surpass 40C (104F) in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey.

In Italy, temperatures could reach as high as 48.8C (119.8F) and a red alert warning has been issued for 10 cities, including Rome, Bologna and Florence.

The report further said that a man in his forties died after collapsing in northern Italy on Tuesday.

Italian media reported that the 44-year-old worker was painting zebra crossing lines in the town of Lodi, near Milan, before he collapsed from the heat. He was taken to hospital where he later died.

“We are facing an unbearable heatwave,” Italian politician Nicola Fratoianni tweeted.

“Maybe it’s the case that in the hottest hours all the useful precautions are taken to avoid tragedies like the one that happened today in Lodi.”

Several tourists in the country have already collapsed due to heat stroke, including a British man outside the Colosseum in Rome.

BBC reported that the Cerberus heatwave – named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante’s inferno – is expected to bring extreme conditions in the next few days.

Spain has been sweltering for days in temperatures of up to 45C and overnight temperatures in much of the country did not drop below 25C. A satellite image recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel mission revealed that the land temperature in the Extremadura region had hit 60C on Tuesday.

The Met Office said temperatures will peak on Friday, and BBC Weather says large swathes of southern Europe could see temperatures in the low to mid-40s – and possibly higher.

The heat is likely to continue into the weekend, and in Prague, the Czech capital, temperatures could reach as high as 36C (96.8F) on Saturday, according to BBC Weather – well up from averages of 24C (75.2F) in July.