2024-07-19 15:29:21
Lasting more than a week, a new heat wave with catastrophic consequences hit the countries of Eastern Europe, Greece and the countries of the Mediterranean, reports France Press.
“We can’t sleep without air conditioners, it’s impossible,” said Alexandre Tudor, a young man who lives in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, BTA reported. In Romania, an alert for dangerous heat has been in effect since July 7.
Power outages in Romania increase in hospitals due to increased use of air conditioners during a heat wave.
A 45-year-old man died from the heat in the town of Botosani, northeastern Romania, the Romanian Ministry of Health said.
In 10 places, a new record night heat was reported, with the thermometer remaining above 27°C. “These temperatures, which do not decrease, are very worrying – if organisms do not have time to cool down at night, the number of deaths will increase,” warned Ilan Kelman of University College London to AFP.
As for the ecosystem, thousands of hectares burned in the Republic of North Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria, where a code red was in effect on Thursday with 43 degrees Celsius expected.
“Inhabitants of European cities will need to adapt not only their infrastructure but also their behavior to cope with more intense heat waves in the future,” emphasizes Hannah Cloke, a climatologist at the University of Reading.
“In the future, it may be almost impossible to go out on certain days,” she says.
Heat waves are becoming more likely with climate change, UN climate experts say. Europe is the continent that is warming the most, temperatures there are rising twice as fast as the world average, climatologists note.
In some regions of Greece, temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius for more than 10 days.
The heat is so intense that the Acropolis, the country’s most visited site, had to be closed for several hours on Wednesday.
In the historic center of Athens on Thursday, tourists sought shady spots with water bottles in hand.
Sam Rizek, a 19-year-old waiter, tries to attract customers while trying to “stay in the shade” to avoid passing out. He was so warm last week that his nose started bleeding. “But here in Greece we have to get used to it,” he says resignedly.