Europe is bracing for more blistering heat over the weekend, with yellow and red weather alerts issued in five European countries. The mercury is set to soar to a whopping 41C in Spain’s Vega del Segura, to hit 40C in the Interior Norte de Valencia and reach 39C in Hellín y Almansa and La Mancha Albaceteña.
As the heatwave gathers momentum, parts of eastern and southeastern Spain will also see temperatures reach the high 30Cs. Extreme weather warnings have also been issued in Sicily, with Palermo expected to see temperatures hit a high of 34C by Monday. Italy’s Campania region is under a yellow high temperature warning, with Naples forecast to hit 33C on Friday.
Greece continues to swelter under blue skies and a blazing sun, with the mercury set to climb as high as 37C in East Sterea and Evvoia. Further afield in Europe, western and northern areas of Finland, as well as central and eastern parts of Sweden will experience temperatures in the high 20Cs.
Finland’s Lapland will see above average temperatures, with the thermometer rising to 29C in Rovaniemi on Saturday. The average summer temperatures for Lapland range between 10-25C (50-77F), with nighttime temperatures dropping to 5-15C (41-59F).
Europe has already been gripped by a powerful heatwave this summer, leading to a number of fatalities.
A new study by scientists in the UK estimates that extreme heat killed 2,300 people across 12 major cities as temperatures soared across the continent between 23 June and 2 July.
Milan was the hardest-hit city in absolute terms, with 317 out of 499 heat deaths, followed by Paris and Barcelona.
London had 273 heat deaths, 171 of which the researchers attributed to human influence on the climate.
“This study demonstrates why heatwaves are known as silent killers,” said Malcolm Mistry, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and co-author of the study. “While a handful of deaths have been reported in Spain, France and Italy, thousands more people are expected to have died as a result of the blistering temperatures.”
Older people were found to be the most vulnerable, with 88% of the climate-driven deaths in people over the age of 65.
The list of countries issued with weather warnings for this weekend and early next week are: Spain, Greece, Italy, Finland and Sweden
