Another week of fire in several countries in North America, Europe and Asia
The northern hemisphere begins a new week of heatwave on Monday, with Europe expecting temperatures above 40°C in Italy and heat warnings issued in Spain, while devastating wildfires continue to rage in Canada and California, reports AFP, cited by news.ro.
Temperatures of up to 48°C are expected early this week in Sardinia, the Mediterranean island to the west of mainland Italy.
In Spain, which has already come through a sweltering week, the weather agency on Sunday issued an orange alert for Monday, warning of temperatures between 38° and 42° over large parts of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, and a red alert (extreme danger) on Monday for parts of Andalusia, and on Tuesday for Aragon, Catalonia and Mallorca (42° and 44°).
The effects of the extreme heat have already been felt in the Canary Islands, on the island of La Palma, where a fire devastated 5,000 hectares of land over the weekend and led to the evacuation of 4,000 people.
In Europe, where experts believe global warming is advancing twice as fast as the world average, several countries are suffering particularly badly.
In Italy, 16 cities are under red alert across the country, with thermometers hovering around 36/37°C, but temperatures that can be felt can exceed 40°C.
Fires in Canada
Across the United States, from Florida in the southeast to California in the west and Texas in the south, much of the South was again hit Sunday by a heat wave described as "sweltering" by the weather service, which is predicting several record high temperatures.
In California's famed Death Valley, one of the hottest places on the planet, the thermometer on Saturday night registered 51°C and temperatures are expected to reach 54°C in the next few hours.
In addition to the high temperatures, Southern California is being ravaged by several raging wildfires that continue to burn and have already devastated more than 3,000 acres and led to evacuations. According to the state fire service, the fires are only 10% contained, raising fears that the situation could worsen.
In Florida, the city of Miami has issued its first "excessive heat" warning. "Prepare for scorching heat," city officials warned on Twitter.
More than 10 million hectares have already burned in Canada this year, more than the country has ever recorded, according to a tally that remains provisional. 906 fires were still active on Saturday, 570 of which are considered out of control, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Storms in Asia
Japan on Sunday issued heatwave warnings for tens of millions of people living in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record temperatures hit large parts of the country.
The country is also facing heavy rains that have killed at least eight people, including a man found dead Saturday in a flooded car in the north.
In South Korea, rescuers were struggling to reach people trapped in a flooded tunnel after heavy rains in recent days left at least 37 people dead and nine missing.
China's weather service has issued several warnings, forecasting temperatures of up to 45°C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang and 39°C in the southern Guangxi region.
Yellow heat code in the Republic of Moldova
The State Hydrometeorological Service has issued a yellow heat code for the whole country. The warning came into force on Sunday and will last until 18 July. According to meteorologists, over wide areas, the maximum air temperature will reach values of +33°C and more.
Heat is one of the deadliest weather phenomena, as the World Meteorological Organisation recently pointed out. Last summer in Europe alone, high temperatures caused more than 60,000 deaths, according to a recent study.
