Italy has recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe so far this year. Near the city of Syracuse, in southeastern Sicily, 48.8 degrees have been reached this Wednesday. Although it should be confirmed by the World Meteorological Agency, these data indicate the highest temperature recorded so far on the continent, URL 0, in Greece, since mercury reached 48 degrees.

The anticyclone Luzifer, from Africa, has been responsible for the heat wave. Southern Italy, especially Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and the island of Sardinia, has been the most affected: Temperatures are around 40 degrees and 45 degrees in the Cantabrian area, so the peaks can still rise. The cyclone will be heading north in the coming days, and on the continent, rises of between eight and fifteen degrees are expected.

Temperatures have caused several fires in the country and left four dead in the centre of the Russian capital. According to the Italian fire brigade in a statement, more than 500 fires have been declared on Wednesday to Thursday alone: "We have made 528 interventions in the last 12 hours, of which 230 have been made in Sicily. Now, the situation is under control,” the DW media said.

State of alarm

Since Thursday, Italy has ten cities in total in a situation of red alarm. These include Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Three days ago, only four municipalities were on high alert; on Friday, the Department of Health has expanded to five other cities, including Florence.

Climate emergency

Heat waves and other extreme phenomena such as that of Italy (droughts, floods, hurricanes…) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that more and more frequencies will occur in the territory. The report he published this Monday highlights the influence that temperature changes in Europe can have: The fires that have occurred in Greece and Germany during these weeks are an example of this.

Moreover, in Europe the increase in temperatures is occurring at a faster rate than in the rest of the world. Following trends, rainfall will rise in northern Europe during the winter; in the Mediterranean and in the high areas, in summer rainfall will fall less, but there will be more improvised ferrets.