Temperatures were expected to reach record highs in Italy yesterday as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned of an increased risk of deaths as heat waves and extreme weather gripped parts of Europe, Asia and the US.
The Mediterranean island of Sardinia could see highs of more than 47°C and forecasters said temperatures could hit 40°C in several Italian cities, including 42°C to 43°C degrees in the Lazio region, which includes Rome.
With baking temperatures hitting Europe during the peak summer tourist season, the WMO said the heat wave in the northern hemisphere was set to intensify over the coming days and warned of an increased risk to health. An estimated 61,000 people could have died in heat waves last year in Europe alone.
Photo: Reuters
“Temperatures in North America, Asia, and across North Africa and the Mediterranean will be above 40°C for a prolonged number of days this week as the heatwave intensifies,” the WMO said.
Overnight minimum temperatures were also expected to reach new highs, the WMO said, creating the risk of an increase in heart attacks and deaths.
“Whilst most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations,” it said.
Scientists have long warned that climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions mainly from burning fossil fuels, would make heat waves more frequent, severe and deadly. They say governments need to take drastic action to reduce emissions to prevent a climate catastrophe.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says last year and 2021 were the continent’s hottest summers on record.
Europe’s highest recorded temperature of 48.8°C was registered in Sicily two years ago.
In Italy, tourists have tried to keep cool by splashing water on themselves from Rome’s fountains and standing under giant fans set up outside the Colosseum. Some were forced to line up for taxis for more than an hour in the scorching heat outside the central railway station in Rome due to the capital’s chronic shortage of taxis.
The Italian Ministry of Health yesterday issued red weather alerts — signaling a possible health threat for anyone exposed to the heat — for 20 of the nation’s 27 main cities, with the number expected to rise to 23 today.
The heat has prompted some travelers to go home early, such as Anita Elshoy and her husband, who returned to Norway from their favorite vacation spot of Vasanello, a village north of Rome, a week earlier than planned.
“[I] got a lot of pain in the head, legs and [my] fingers swelled up and I became more and more dizzy,” Elshoy said of her heat-related symptoms. “We were supposed to be there for two weeks, but we couldn’t [stay] because of the heat.”
In Spain, areas of the northeastern regions of Catalonia and Aragon, and the Mediterranean island of Mallorca were on alert for temperatures of 42°C to 44°C.
In Greece, authorities have told citizens close to a forest fire in Dervenochoria, north of Athens, to shut their doors and windows as smoke from the flames approached amid gale force winds.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS