Sicily hits 48.8°C, the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe

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Environment 12 August 2021

The highest somesthesia ever recorded successful Europe was provisionally reported connected 11 August. The municipality of Syracuse connected the Italian land of Sicily reached 48.8°C, 0.8°C higher than the erstwhile European record.

High temperatures are besides being recorded elsewhere. In Tunisia, the superior Tunis deed 49°C connected 11 August according to Reuters, much than 2 degrees higher than the erstwhile grounds of 46.8°C successful 1982.

These grounds utmost temperatures crossed a swathe of confederate Europe and bluish Africa are astir surely a effect of planetary warming. The blistery and adust conditions person led to galore devastating fires. Italy has declared a authorities of emergency, and successful Greece thousands of radical had to beryllium evacuated from the land of Evia arsenic flames spread. The contiguous origin of the heatwave is simply a ridge of precocious unit implicit the Mediterranean, forming what is known arsenic a vigor dome.

“Record-breaking temperatures successful June 2019 saw the French somesthesia grounds transcend 45.0°C for the archetypal time, and our investigation recovered that lawsuit was 5 times much apt due to the fact that of clime change. Although we haven’t yet been capable to tally an in-depth survey connected the existent situation, I deliberation it’s going to beryllium wide that clime alteration has made this existent lawsuit much extreme,” said Peter Stott astatine the UK’s Met Office successful a statement.

The erstwhile grounds for Europe, according to the World Meteorological Organization, is 48°C successful Athens successful 1977. The caller grounds has to beryllium validated by the WMO earlier it becomes official, which means checking that the section upwind presumption is close and correctly acceptable up.

Maximiliano Herrera, who monitors utmost temperatures astir the world, told The Washington Post that the upwind presumption has high-quality instruments and is well-maintained, suggesting the grounds volition beryllium confirmed.

The satellite has warmed by 1.09°C supra 1850 to 1900 levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel connected Climate Change (IPCC) study retired earlier this week. This warming is making utmost upwind specified arsenic heatwaves hap much often, and besides making specified events much severe.

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