The extreme heat wave that affects many regions of Spain, Italy and Portugal could lead to exceedances of the record temperature ever in Europe of 48 degrees in the coming days, the European Space Agency (ESA) warned on Thursday.

After a spring and early summer marked by storms and floods, with the warmest month of June in world history, the arrival of the anticyclone Cerberus from the Mediterranean threatens to break the record of 48 degrees, which was just reached in the Italian city of Floridia . two years ago, on August 11, 2021. Charon’s arrival is expected almost immediately.

Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are currently battling a heat wave that pushed thermometers above 40 degrees in the first half of July, during which – according to the World Meteorological Organization – the world experienced its warmest week on record .

ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite recorded the temperature in Europe between July 9 and 10, based on the amount of energy the Earth radiates, significantly higher than the air temperature, which meteorologists refer to.

A young man cools off in one of the fountains in central Córdoba this Monday as the second heat wave of this summer is causing extreme temperatures across much of Europe. Photo: EFE

For example, it has measured temperatures of 46 ºC in Madrid, 47 ºC in Seville and even above 50 ºC in certain regions of Italy.

The current heat coincides with the El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, and it looks like more weather records will be broken in the world.

African heat masses

Once Cerberus has passed, Italy will prepare for the arrival of the new anticyclone, Charon, which is scheduled for next Sunday and will last all week with temperatures expected to range from 42 degrees on the peninsula to 47 degrees on the island of Sardinia.

The meteorologist and editor-in-chief of the website www.iLMeteo.it, Andrea Garbinato, explained that after the passage of the current anticyclone, Cerberus, the subtropical high pressure Charon will arrive, which will be responsible for bringing atmospheric calm but also a new and more powerful heat African.

In a study published by Nature Medicine earlier this week, Spanish and French researchers estimate that high temperatures will cause more than 60,000 deaths in Europe by 2022. The countries with the highest mortality were Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal.