Rome, Jul. 24, (dpa/GNA) – Italy is suffering under an unrelenting heatwave that continues to afflict many parts of the country.
Last week a high pressure area that meteorologists called Charon after the mythological ferryman to Hades brought high temperatures to several regions, and on Monday the system dubbed Charon the Encore continued the trend.
Central and southern Italy were particularly badly affected. However, while temperatures have been lower in the north, that region has been hit by some severe storms in the past few days.
In the capital Rome temperatures up to 39 degrees Celsius were measured on Monday, with around 36 degrees recorded in Florence and Bologna.
It was even hotter in the southern regions of Puglia and Calabria as well as in Sardinia and Sicily. According to the air force’s meteorological service some areas there recorded temperatures of well over 40 degrees at midday, with the south of Sardinia and the east of Sicily the hottest places.
It is expected to be hot again on Tuesday, with a fall in temperatures not expected until the middle of the week.
Italy has already been suffering under high daytime temperatures for several weeks. These are enormously exhausting for the elderly, the sick and small children.
The association of Italian health and hospital companies (FIASO) announced on Monday that the “current climatic situation” poses considerable challenges to the country’s health-care system. An average increase of 30% in admissions to the country’s emergency rooms had been recorded, it said.
Meanwhile, the risk of wildfires is also increasing, and there have already been several fires in the southern region of Calabria in the past few days.
In the north-west of Sicily, emergency forces were also fighting isolated fires. On Sunday the Sicilian Civil Defence service issued warnings for Monday for three regions of the Mediterranean island – Palermo, Trapani and Enna.
GNA