Europe sizzles as a heatwave sweeps the continent, pushing temperatures close to record levels

An aggravated and prolonged play of vigor is sweeping crossed Europe, with meteorologists informing temperatures successful Italy could soon surpass 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.84 Fahrenheit) — the highest somesthesia recorded successful European history.

An anticyclone known as Cerberus, named aft the three-headed monster that features successful Dante's Inferno, is expected to nonstop temperatures supra 40 degrees Celsius successful parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey successful the coming days.

In Italy, meanwhile, temperatures could soon scope arsenic precocious arsenic 48 degrees Celsius connected the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. A reddish alert informing has been issued for 10 cities nationwide, including Rome, Florence and Bologna.

The hottest somesthesia thought to person ever been recorded successful Europe was 48.8 degrees adjacent the past metropolis of Syracuse connected the seashore of Sicily successful August 2021. Scientists astatine the European Space Agency said that grounds could beryllium breached again successful the coming days.

The Italian Meteorological Society (SMI), meanwhile, told CNBC that it was not yet imaginable to forecast whether Europe's somesthesia grounds would soon beryllium equaled oregon surpassed.

The SMI did warn, however, that "the wide-scale meteorological configuration is rather akin to the 1 that brought the exceptional worth of 48.8 °C successful Sicily connected 11 August 2021" and the Cerberus heatwave is expected to intensify successful confederate Italy successful the coming days.

Researchers accidental planetary heating is powerfully expanding the likelihood of heatwaves specified arsenic the 1 presently sizzling successful countries crossed Europe.

It comes soon aft the satellite registered its hottest time since records began for the 3rd clip successful conscionable 4 days.

Climate scientists are deeply concerned astir a caller spate of planetary vigor records, underscoring the pressing request to slash greenhouse state emissions fueling the clime emergency.

"Heat puts unit connected each of nine and has cascading risks," Chloe Brimicombe, a clime researcher astatine Austria's University of Graz, told CNBC via email.

"This includes vigor grids and wellness work nether pressure, trains having to tally slower oregon roads melting successful immoderate regions, imaginable alteration successful harvest yields, livestock wellness issues and retail outputs. The astir susceptible successful nine are those who are astir inequitably impacted."

Earlier this week, scientists recovered that much than 61,000 radical died successful Europe arsenic a effect of the vigor past year. The summertime of 2022 was Europe's hottest connected record and was characterized by a punishing bid of record-breaking heatwaves.

The research, published Monday successful Nature Medicine, said that Italy had the astir heat-related deaths betwixt May 30 and Sept. 4 past year, with 18,010, portion Spain had 11,324 and Germany 8,173.

The Cerberus heatwave has sparked fears that the existent spell of utmost vigor could origin galore much deaths this summer.

"The accrued frequence of utmost heatwaves and different utmost upwind events should beryllium an alarm doorbell for policymakers successful Europe, arsenic successful the remainder of the world, astir the urgency to accelerate clime action," Simone Tagliapietra, a elder chap for the Brussels-based deliberation vessel Bruegel, told CNBC via email.

"Such events tin person superior implications for the system and society. For instance, they tin impact the vigor system, by putting beardown unit connected the energy grid owed to higher energy request for conditioning, to supply-side problems specified arsenic reduced hydropower output," Tagliapietra added.