Been a bit warm eh?

[Drax]

Land temperatures in Spain surpass 60C as deadly heatwave sweeps Europe

The temperature of the ground in some areas of Spain has hit more than 60C during the deadly heatwave sweeping Europe, satellite recordings have shown.

It was so hot that a heat map that highlights scorching temperatures in red turned even darker – to black.

Temperature records have been broken on most of the continent, including France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, where highs of 40C were recorded again on Wednesday.

Sicily and Sardinia were forecast to be as high as 48C.

The heatwave claimed its first life this summer, prompting health warnings for tourists.

A 44-year-old worker was reportedly painting a zebra crossing in 40C heat in the town of Lodi outside Milan, Italy, at midday on Tuesday when he collapsed.

He was said to have lost consciousness due to the intense heat.

An area of high pressure, named Cerberus after the underworld monster from Dante’s Inferno, is making its way across the country.

On Tuesday, satellites recorded the land surface temperature in some areas of Extremadura in Spain at more than 60C.

A total of 13 autonomous communities were categorised as being at extreme risk (red alert), significant risk (orange alert), and risk (yellow alert), with some places recording 43C.

The 60C land temperature was recorded by the sea and land surface temperature radiometer (SLSTR) instrument, which is a feature of Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites.

Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s space programme.

Bosses at Copernicus point out that the land surface temperature is that of the soil and should not be confused with the air temperature.

The extreme heat is forecast to last across the Mediterranean for around two weeks.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/highest-temperature-in-spain-today-b2375109.html

[Drax]

Tourists warned to stay off Spain's beaches after land temperature hits 60 degrees

Europe’s satellite agency has warned the land surface temperature in a Spanish town exceeded 60 degrees on Tuesday.

While it's the landlocked region of Extremadura that made headlines for hitting the deadly high, temperature records are expected to tumble across much of the continent as a sweltering heatwave continues.

The weather is so stifling that in the UK, travellers entering Spain for the summer holidays have been warned to stay away from beaches. On the popular show Good Morning Britain, a Spanish tourism spokesperson warned, “It will soon be too hot to lie on the beach in July and August”.

At home, Londoners haven't experienced such stifling conditions, but they've still been warned to beware of snakes escaping from their enclosures as temperatures rise.

Deadly story behind European heatwave's naming
While it’s common practice for hurricanes and cyclones to be named, this is the first time meteorologists in Europe have decided to name a heatwave — it’s called Cerberus.

The decision to do so was made to try and raise awareness about the threat it poses to human safety. In Australia, heatwaves are responsible for more deaths than any other natural hazard. Cerberus has already claimed a life in Italy this year — a 44-year-old construction worker died this week.

As the impact of manmade climate change continues to destroy the planet, heatwaves are expected to become more frequent and severe.

Concern for animal and human health
But it’s not just human health that’s in danger. In Spain, wildlife rescuers are working to save nestling birds which are prone to the effects of heatwaves.

A spokesperson for Madrid's regional Centre for the Recovery of Wild Animals warned that kestrel fledglings face peril when they crash-land due to heat. “After a day or two without food, with these high temperatures, they dehydrate very easily," he added.

Weather alerts have been placed in a number of countries including the Canary Islands, Italy, Cyprus and Greece. The European Space Agency has concerns about the July temperatures in other nations too. “Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe, it said.

Meanwhile in the US the hottest ever temperature in the world could be recorded in California's Death Valley this weekend with temperatures forecast to climb as high as 55 degrees.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/tourists-warned-stay-off-spains-beaches-after-land-temperature-hits-60-degrees-081058594.html

[Judi_bk]

It is forecast to reach 44 again next week

[frankie]

Am I alone in feeing like a greasy chip all the time at the moment?  Every time I stick my nose outside, I start leaking all over-  My poor garden is really suffering, despite my watering almost every day.  When I moved here almost 20 years ago, I did not expect to  be getting temps above 40 and back then I didn't!  How can anyone deny Global Warming now?

[jimmymac]

I thought it was just me getting a bit old as I seem to be feeling the heat a bit more this year than in the previous twenty!

[Judi_bk]

I agree.  When I get the weather stats up to date I'll do some comparisons

[frankie]

Having now binned all my old diaries (too much information now!) I did look at a few ofthe temps we'd had.  There was the odd day in August above 40 but didn't seem to be every year and only one day not for over a week in July!  I hope we don't get similar next month