Europe braces for more sweltering heat

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Europe is bracing for suffocating heat for the rest of this month, said the European Space Agency on Thursday.

“Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the extreme temperatures in the continent follow "record-shattering global temperatures."

It recalled that the highest temperature in European history was broken on Aug. 11, 2021, when a temperature of 48.8°C was recorded in Floridia, an Italian town in the Sicilian province of Syracuse.

“That record may be broken again in the coming days,” the agency added.

Commenting on the findings of the agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, scientist Benjamin Koetz said: “Climate warming amplified this year by El Niño severely affects food production, water availability as well as our health.”