At least the middle-aged lady could still laugh about it. “I didn’t feel any hot flashes for the first time, write that,” she told a reporter who arrived at the Acropolis after a long climb. On the way to the Athenian monument, she endured temperatures approaching 50 degrees in the sun. And she was lucky, too: To protect tourists, the famous landmark was closed this weekend in the heat of the day because of the heat.
Such closures are more common in the summer, but the heat that crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa last weekend was certainly sweltering. And this is just the beginning. The temperature in southern Europe is expected to rise further in the coming days, possibly to 49 degrees in Sicily and Sardinia. The European heat record of 48.8 degrees just two years ago may be broken.
About the author
Martin Keulemans, Science Editor De Volkskrant, specializing in microlife, climate, archeology and genetic engineering. He was named Journalist of the Year for his reporting on the Coronavirus.
The heat is really a hassle. In Spain, satellites of the European weather program Copernicus last weekend saw that the Earth in some places warmed up to 60 degrees. In Turkey, the temperature on the coast rose to over 40 degrees and dozens of people had to be hospitalized due to heat exhaustion. It also happened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The 73-year-old man was temporarily hospitalized on Saturday with symptoms of dehydration, which he developed during a picnic on the Sea of Galilee at 38 degrees Celsius.
About 5,000 kilometers to the west, more than 4,000 people have had to leave their homes after a violent forest fire broke out on the Canary Island of La Palma. About 5,000 hectares of forest and more than a dozen homes were burning until the winds died down on Sunday and the bushfires were further brought under control.
A very different battle against the elements is now being waged in Asia, where there have been torrential monsoon rains for weeks now. At least 100 people have been killed in landslides and floods in northern India. In Delhi, parts of the metro network are closed and some major highways are rendered unusable as the Yamuna River reaches its highest level in 45 years. And in South Korea, 37 people died from the torrential rains, including in a disaster in which a road tunnel suddenly filled with water after a river dam collapsed.
Meanwhile, air traffic controllers in Manila, Philippines, canceled flights due to bad weather. A depression has developed into a tropical storm in recent days with winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour and heavy rain. So not a hurricane yet, but it is possible that the storm at sea will continue to absorb enough energy to become one.
Meanwhile, the seagulls of Holland have flown backwards and the only records broken are personal speed records for windsurfers. The intense heat will move from the south to the north in the coming days, but the weather in our country is under the influence of a wide low pressure area near Scotland, which cools Scandinavia and Denmark and therefore us too.
This makes the Netherlands completely unique, as it is the only corner of Europe where the heat does not reach. Because it is also very hot in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, the heat record for that time of year was broken on Saturday, with 38.6 degrees from the previous record of 36.8 degrees set in 2007. And in Poland, where the temperature reached 35 degrees, authorities warned dogs were not allowed. and pets. Leave the children alone in the car.
The Dutch troubles will pass for the time being. As far as weather models can predict, the temperature here will remain stable for weeks at around 20 degrees, with at most rain per day or a few millimeters. Very calm summer weather, while heat records are increasingly cracking on the road.
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