In the next few days, a sharp rise in air temperature in the Mediterranean is expected, and in some areas, the thermometer will rise to the critical mark of +50 °C. The weather causes anxiety among tourists because there were incidents when vacationers fainted due to the hellish heat.
It is about Italy, first of all. It is this country that will have a heat stroke. But Italy is not the only one facing extreme weather. Turkey is also expecting record temperatures, and meteorologists warn of the possibility of reaching +50 °C there.
Popular resort regions across the Mediterranean are bracing for extreme temperatures, and holidaymakers have been warned to be careful, according to weather forecasters published by the Daily Star. For example, the president of the Italian Meteorological Society and Professor Luca Mercalli emphasized: “We know that the temperature will be higher than +40 or +45 °C. We can get close to the record. In any case, the levels will be very high.”
Italy will bear the brunt of this season’s hot weather, but other parts of southern Europe will also feel the heat, with temperatures forecast to reach +45°C in southern Spain and +44°C in Greece this week. But it will not be easy in Turkey, which Europeans have chosen en masse this year as a destination for recreation, as +50 °C is expected in several tourist provinces.
Unfortunately, habitual tourism in hellish temperature conditions is a danger to life, so vacationers should take precautions. The Red Cross has drawn attention to the need to avoid being on the streets of the most vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly. At the same time, the organization urged people not only to monitor their health but also to pay attention to the signs of heatstroke – primarily vomiting and fainting. Symptoms of heat exhaustion can include fatigue, dizziness, headaches, cramps in the arms, legs, and abdomen, increased sweating, and either pale and clammy skin or a rash.
There have already been reports of tourists losing consciousness due to relatively low temperatures. For example, the publication told about one vacationer who fainted in front of the Colosseum in Rome when the temperature reached only +36 °C – a pittance compared to the predicted heat.
The heat, covering most of Southern Europe, is due to an anticyclone – an area of high pressure that causes elevated temperatures. Last Wednesday, hot air had already covered most of Italy, which made the situation even more unpleasant.
It should be noted that the highest temperature in Europe was recorded on August 11, 2021, in the city of Floridia in Sicily, where the mercury column rose to +48.8 °C, and a new record is likely to be set this year.