Italy may have recorded Europe’s hottest temperature on record

On Wednesday (August 11), regional authorities in Sicily reported record-breaking temperatures of 48.8 degrees Celsius.

If accepted by the World Meteorological Organisation this will break the previous European record of 48C set in Athens in 1977.

The temperature, which was measured at a monitoring station in Syracuse, Sicily, comes as Anticyclone ‘Lucifer’ swept across the country. 

Anticyclones are areas of high atmospheric pressure where the air is sinking. In summer, anticyclones bring dry, hot weather. 

Lucifer is forecast to head north across mainland Italy, further raising temperatures in cities including the capital, Rome.

Italy’s health ministry has issued ‘red’ alerts for extreme heat in several regions and the number of cities that face the highest health risk is expected to rise from eight to 15 by Friday.

The heatwave has led to the spread of wildfires across southern Italy, with Sicily, Calabria and Puglia the worst-hit regions.

Italian firefighters on Wednesday said they had been involved in more than 300 operations in Sicily and Calabria over a 12-hour period, battling through the night to control blazes burning thousands of acres of land.

In related news, scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region across the world, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Photo by Fabian Jones