Closing summary
It’s been another exceptionally hot day across numerous parts of the US and the world. Here is a wrap up of the day’s events:
US climate envoy John Kerry has stressed the climate crisis was not just a “bilateral issue” between China and the US but a “universal threat to humankind.” Kerry spoke at a press conference during a China visit aimed at reviving climate talks between the two countries.
Nasa announced leaders and climate experts will meet on Thursday to discuss the extreme weather events. Participants include Nasa administrator Bill Nelson, chief scientist and senior climate adviser Kate Calvin, the Ocean Ecology Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center’s chief Carlos Del Castillo, and others.
Passengers on a Delta flight scheduled to leave Las Vegas on Monday are sounding the alarm on the dangerous conditions inside their plane. The plane was sitting on the tarmac and did not have air conditioning, leaving those inside vulnerable to the scorching heat.
In a joint effort with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Vermont’s state government is working quickly to begin the recovery process from last week’s floods that left a trail of destruction. President Joe Biden declared the Vermont floods a major disaster on 11 July, releasing federal funding to eligible affected individuals.
Jennifer Morrison, Vermont’s commissioner of the department of public safety, has provided an update on rescues across the state following last week’s devastating floods. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Morrison said that 211 people were rescued from homes, vehicles, trees, a floating hot tub wedged in a tree and a floating dumpster.
The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and asthma.
High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles in Kentucky on Wednesday, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings. A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the north-east.
Egypt will face regular power cuts until the middle of next week as the government limits consumption of gas during a heatwave, the cabinet said on Wednesday. Reuters said residents have reported power cuts in several areas in Cairo this week as temperatures have risen above 40C during a heatwave that has affected southern Europe and north Africa.
A few weeks after saying it will curb its low emission zone (LEZ), the new rightwing coalition government in the Spanish city of Valladolid is calling on people to stop using private cars due to high levels of ozone contamination. Hot air from a heatwave affecting southern Europe has caused levels of ozone in the atmosphere to exceed the trigger for calls for less car use for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, the mayor’s office has said in a statement.
Coastal waters around Spain have hit a record high temperature for this time of the year, the national weather office said on Wednesday as the country remained on alert due to a heatwave. The average temperature of the water off Spain in mid-July reached 24.6C (76.3F), 2.2C higher than the average for the season, according to the weather office Aemet.
As parts of Europe are experiencing a severe heatwave, protesters in Scotland have blockaded two oil sites and claim they aim to “shut down the Scottish oil industry”. PA Media reports that climate activists are present at the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth, on the the Firth of Forth, and the Nustar Clydebank oil terminal in West Dunbartonshire.
Greek meteorologists are warning that the worst is still to come as the country braces for a second heat wave in as many weeks. While gale-force winds, which have been fanning fires, are expected to subside climatic conditions that are both extremely hot and dry will ensure that the danger of wildfires persists.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Updated
John Kerry: climate crisis a 'universal threat to humankind'
US climate envoy John Kerry has stressed the climate crisis was not just a “bilateral issue” between China and the US but a “universal threat to humankind”.
Kerry spoke at a press conference during a China visit aimed at reviving climate talks between the two countries. Kerry has been in Beijing since Sunday in an effort to mend ties between the two nations whose climate talks were suspended following a Taiwan visit by Nancy Pelosi in 2022.
On Wednesday, Kerry told reporters:
President Biden believes, as I think of the world does, that the climate crisis is a universal threat to humankind. And we all have a responsibility to deal with it as rapidly as we can. And we hope we will leave other issues aside.
The talks between the US and China are significant because both nations are the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Kerry said more meetings with China would take place before COP28 in Dubai in November.
Here are images coming through the newswires of the heatwave across the world:
Nasa leaders will meet climate experts to discuss extreme weather events
Nasa announced leaders and climate experts will meet on Thursday to discuss the extreme weather events.
Participants include Nasa administrator Bill Nelson, chief scientist and senior climate adviser Kate Calvin, the Ocean Ecology Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center’s chief Carlos Del Castillo, and others.
The agency said:
From wildfires raging across North America, flooding in the Northeast, heatwaves across the Southwest, and a record hot June, millions of Americans are experiencing the effects of extreme weather, and Nasa is tracking all of it.
Leadership and climate experts from across NASA will meet at 4pm ET (1600 UTC) Thursday, July 20, to discuss recent extreme weather events, from flooding to record-breaking heatwaves.
— NASA (@NASA) July 19, 2023
Follow the link for info and media accreditation: https://t.co/xiSujYCw1W pic.twitter.com/Ro5NAA8aYy
Updated
South-west will experience 'oppressive heat' well into next week, says NWS
The heat in the south-west doesn’t seem to be letting up.
The region will continue to experience “oppressive heat” well into next week, according to the National Weather Service.
An extremely dangerous and long-duration heat wave will continue over the Southwest well into next week with oppressive heat indices spreading across the south-central and southeast U.S. through this weekend. https://t.co/VyWINDkBnn pic.twitter.com/TJBHldpDOg
— National Weather Service (@NWS) July 19, 2023
Updated
In other extreme-heat related news, passengers on a Delta flight scheduled to leave Las Vegas on Monday are sounding the alarm on the dangerous conditions inside their plane.
The plane was sitting on the tarmac and did not have air conditioning, leaving those inside vulnerable to the scorching heat.
One passenger said it reached 111F inside the plane. At least one person was carried off the plane in a stretcher and it was also reported one woman put on an oxygen mask, while others fainted.
Passenger Krista Garvis told ABC13, “It’s just traumatizing at this point.”
Garvis said flight crew told passengers over loudspeaker that they had the option of getting off the plane but that they wouldn’t get another flight for days.
Delta Airlines is investigating the incident.
With millions of Americans having been under extreme heat alerts over the past few weeks, authorities have also urged pet owners to take caution when bringing their pets outside.
“When the air temp is 86F, the asphalt temp is 135F. To find out if the ground is too hot for your pet, place your hand on the pavement for 10 seconds. If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pet!” the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday.
Dehydration signs to look for in dogs include dark urine, lack of skin elasticity, dry, sticky gums and dry nose, as well as sunken and dry eyes.
🚨Protect your pet’s paws from the extreme heat!
— FEMA Region 6 (@FEMARegion6) July 19, 2023
When the air temp. is 86°, the asphalt temp. is 135°🥵
💡To find out if the ground is too hot for your pet, place your hand on the pavement for 10 seconds.
‼️If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pet!#SummerReady pic.twitter.com/neBuAAVgK5
Updated
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has warned motorists to avoid flooded areas while driving as devastating floods sweep across the US.
“Flooded waters can seem shallower than they are from a distance — don’t put your vehicle or your life in danger,” Fema tweeted.
Don't take the risk! If you see a flooded area while you are driving, turn around!
— Readygov (@Readygov) July 19, 2023
Flooded waters can seem shallower than they are from a distance — don't put your vehicle or your life in danger.
More tips: https://t.co/5WQUDCC70W pic.twitter.com/HOphqTfvL6
Updated
In a joint effort with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Vermont’s state government is working quickly to begin the recovery process from last week’s floods that left a trail of destruction.
President Joe Biden declared the Vermont floods a major disaster on 11 July, releasing federal funding to eligible affected individuals. Fema assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Some 331 personnel from Fema are working in Vermont, and 1,980 homes and 144 businesses have been visited by the agency to offer assistance. Vermont governor Phil Scott said those figures are dynamic and only broadly representative of the total damage.
The full extent of the impact is yet to be determined, said Scott as he called on Congress for help.
We don’t know the total impact, but we’re getting closer … This is nothing that we can do on our own.
Updated
Commissioner Emily Hawes, for Vermont’s department of mental health, emphasized the importance of self-care in the wake of a traumatic natural disaster.
Our homes roadways and businesses both large and small, have sustained damages that will leave a lasting mark on our communities.
Moreover, there are invisible damages. The toll this has taken – on our neighbors whose lives have been upended, on our brave emergency and essential workers and volunteers dedicating their time to piecing our communities back together.
As we come together to rebuild what was damaged and loss, I want to emphasize the importance of prioritizing the well being of our communities. This means addressing the crucial impact of natural disasters on our mental health.
Hawes told those affected by the floods can visit https://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/flood to find support.
Updated
Vermont: more than 200 people rescued from homes, vehicles and trees
Jennifer Morrison, Vermont’s commissioner of the department of public safety, has provided an update on rescues across the state following last week’s devastating floods.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Morrison said that 211 people were rescued from homes, vehicles, trees, a floating hot tub wedged in a tree and a floating dumpster.
The rescues were conducted by boats or by rescuers wading across deep waters, she said, adding that 127 were conducted in the first two days of the flooding. So far, only one death has been recorded.
Additionally, 18 animals were transported or rescued from homes and vehicles.
Morrison went on to urge residents to continue exercising caution, saying:
I want to remind everyone that many injuries and deaths related to a disaster happen after the acute emergency and during the cleanup and recovery phase.
Please exercise caution as you go about cleaning up and drying out our residential and business buildings. Household debris has nails, sharp edges and other hazards. Please remember that our waterways have significant debris in them and unusually strong currents. It is not business as usual yet for recreation on around our rivers, streams and lakes.
Updated
Heat straining healthcare systems in northern hemisphere, says WHO
The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and asthma.
The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said:
Extreme heat takes the greatest toll on those least able to manage its consequences, such as older people, infants and children, and the poor and homeless.
It also puts increased pressure on health systems.
Exposure to excessive heat has wide-ranging impacts for health, often amplifying pre-existing conditions and resulting in premature death and disability.
He said the WHO was working with the World Meteorological Organization, its fellow Geneva-based UN agency, to support countries in developing hot-weather action plans to coordinate preparedness and reduce the impacts of excessive heat on health, according to AFP.
Updated
Children swept away in Kentucky flooding
High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles in Kentucky on Wednesday, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings.
A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the north-east.
The national weather service estimated that as much as 10 inches (25cm) of rain could fall in the area where Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri meet at the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
Atmospheric scientists say the global warming responsible for unrelenting heat in the south-west also is making this kind of extreme rainfall a more frequent reality, because clouds hold more moisture as the temperature rises, resulting in more destructive storms, AP reports.
There were several reports of people being rescued from high water surrounding homes and vehicles in the Mayfield and Wingo areas early Wednesday, according to Keith Cooley, a senior forecaster with the weather service in Paducah, Kentucky. He called it a “life-threatening situation” because so much rain fell in such a short time.
Updated
Egypt will face regular power cuts until the middle of next week as the government limits consumption of gas during a heatwave, the cabinet said on Wednesday.
Reuters said residents have reported power cuts in several areas in Cairo this week as temperatures have risen above 40C during a heatwave that has affected southern Europe and north Africa.
Egypt has an electricity supply surplus after rapidly expanding capacity over the past decade but demand for power, much of it generated by natural gas, rises in the summer as people use more air conditioning.
Authorities had begun load shedding, or planned power cuts, after pressure in the gas network fell due to increased consumption, the cabinet cited the prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, as saying.
He said:
We are currently in a period of temporary load shedding until the network returns to normal pressures.
Updated
Just Stop Oil campaigners have marched in Parliament Square in London, as temperatures soar and heatwaves intensify across other parts of Europe.
Supporters demand that the UK government “immediately halt all new licences for fossil fuels”.
The campaign group tweeted: “How many more must die of heatwaves, floods, crop failure?”
🛢️ Why won't the Government simply stop new oil? How many more must die of heatwaves, floods, crop failure?
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 19, 2023
🤔 Perhaps the @Conservatives' £3.5m in donations from fossil fuel interests comes into play here... https://t.co/dPbZSar3hL
Updated
A few weeks after saying it will curb its low emission zone (LEZ), the new rightwing coalition government in the Spanish city of Valladolid is calling on people to stop using private cars due to high levels of ozone contamination.
Hot air from a heatwave affecting southern Europe has caused levels of ozone in the atmosphere to exceed the trigger for calls for less car use for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, the mayor’s office has said in a statement.
It said:
Combustion vehicles emit pollutants which contribute significantly to the formation of ozone in the atmosphere.
It is important that the use of combustion vehicles for private transport is reduced as much as possible so as not to trigger more restrictive measures.
Reuters reported that Valladolid’s new coalition government of the conservative People’s party (PP) and far-right Vox, which took power in May after local elections, said it would reduce the city’s LEZ, arguing that Valladolid had low pollution levels.
Updated
Water management has become a key focus in campaigns ahead of Spain’s general election on 23 July, as a prolonged nationwide drought leaves parts of the south parched and forces farmers and industries to compete for the increasingly scarce resource.
Reuters reports that the conservative People’s party, which is leading polls, has promised to pump billions of euros into water infrastructure, as the climate crisis generates hotter summers and drier winters.
Updated
Spanish weather office says coastal waters have hit record high for this time of year
Coastal waters around Spain have hit a record high temperature for this time of the year, the national weather office said on Wednesday as the country remained on alert due to a heatwave.
The average temperature of the water off Spain in mid-July reached 24.6C (76.3F), 2.2C higher than the average for the season, according to the weather office Aemet.
AFP reports the figure “far exceeds” the previous records of 24C hit in 2015 and 23.7C in 2022, and was “unprecedented” for mid-July since current records began in 1940.
This situation is even more worrying since the summer is far from over, said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson.
“There is still room for the sea to warm even more,” he added, referring to Spain’s southern Mediterranean as well as northern Atlantic waters.
Temperatures in some spots of Spain’s Mediterranean south-eastern waters have already hit 28C.
Updated
Helena Smith is in Athens for the Guardian, and reports that the EU has weighed in with help to combat wildfires in Greece, dispatching four Canadair water bombers as the battle to douse blazes that have raged around Athens intensified.
AP specifies that three firefighting teams from Poland, Romania and Slovakia are due in Greece on Thursday, while Israel has pledged two firefighting aircraft, adding to the four planes from Italy and France already operating outside Athens.
Read Helena Smith’s latest report from Athens here: EU sends water bombers to help fight wildfires around Athens
As parts of Europe are experiencing a severe heatwave, protesters in Scotland have blockaded two oil sites and claim they aim to “shut down the Scottish oil industry”.
PA Media reports that climate activists are present at the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth, on the the Firth of Forth, and the Nustar Clydebank oil terminal in West Dunbartonshire.
The campaign group posted on Twitter: “Grangemouth supplies 90% of Scotland’s oil. We have stopped oil leaving this site, as well as Nustar Terminal in Clydebank. We have no plans to stop.
“Groups of people are currently occupying pipework and a fuel silo and blockading terminal gates, while another group has immobilised a car park full of tankers at the Grangemouth facility. No fuel can leave the sites while they are occupied.
“The action is the first in a sustained series of actions, in which the group has vowed to shut down the Scottish oil industry.”
The news agency reports that police have been called to both sites.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images sent to us from Greece, where authorities are battling wildfires.
Updated
Italy temperatures near 47C (117F)
Lorenzo Tondo, the Guardian’s southern Italy correspondent, reports:
Temperatures in Sicily hit almost 47C on Wednesday amid the fierce heatwave stretching across the Southern Europe.
The peaks were recorded in the area between Mazara del Vallo in the province of Trapani and Sciacca in the province of Agrigento, according to data released by ilMeteo.it and reported by Italy’s Ansa news agency.
The Sicilian Federation of Hospitals has called for more home assistance for older people as many cannot leave their houses because of the heat and with health facilities reporting a 20-25% increase in the numbers arriving at emergency units across the country.
Sicily’s heatwave is set to be measured against its own record of 48.8C registered in 2021, which is officially considered the highest recorded temperature in Europe.
On 17 July, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that the 48.8C (119.8F) recorded on the monitoring station in Syracuse, Sicily, in 2021 had been verified as the European high-temperature record, against which the current heatwave will be measured.
It said: “A committee of experts has verified the accuracy of the temperature reading, but has not yet published the full report. It is possible that this record may be broken in the coming days as the heatwave intensifies.”
Updated
In South Korea, heavy rain has pummelled central and southern regions since last week.
Fourteen deaths occurred in an underpass in the city of Cheongju, where more than a dozen vehicles were swamped on Saturday when a river levee collapsed.
In the south-eastern province of North Gyeongsang, 22 people died, many as a result of landslides and swirling torrents, Reuters reports.
Updated
Zookeepers are also helping animals keep cool with frozen food at the Rome zoo in Italy. I’m sure it is a welcome reprieve from the heat!
Updated
Authorities in North Macedonia extended a heat alert with predicted temperatures topping 43C, while Kosovo also issued heat warnings, according to AP.
Here are some images from the wires showing how people in Beijing are coping in the heat. Many are seen wearing hats to ward off the sun and some have resorted to covering their faces entirely.
Updated
People in Beijing are sweltering under crippling summer heat on Wednesday as China’s capital kept up a record-breaking streak of four weeks of highs above 35C.
The extreme temperatures forced delivery drivers to seek refuge under bridges, residents covered their faces and arms in protective clothing and tourists clasped mini electric fans outside the Forbidden City, AFP reports.
Beijing broke a 23-year-old record on Tuesday with 27 consecutive days of temperatures above 35C, the China meteorological administration said.
The temperature recorded by Beijing’s benchmark weather station in its southern suburbs soared higher still on Wednesday afternoon to 36.3C.
“It feels like this year is hotter than ever,” Han Weili, a delivery driver, told AFP.
The Beijing government has urged elderly people to stay indoors and children to shorten outdoor playtime to reduce exposure to the heat and ground-level ozone pollution, a major component of the smog blanketing the city.
Further evacuations were ordered in Greece on Wednesday as wildfires raged near the capital after a second heatwave hit the country, following days of record-high temperatures that baked southern Europe.
In a round-the-clock battle to preserve forests, industrial facilities, and homes, evacuations continued for a third day along a highway connecting Athens to the southern city of Corinth, AP reports.
Temperatures in southern Greece are expected to reach 44C by the end of the week, in the second heatwave to hit Europe’s Mediterranean south in two weeks – prompting a renewed warning against extreme summer heat.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said preliminary global figures showed the month of June to be the hottest on record.
The WMO secretary general, Petteri Taalas, said:
The extreme weather, an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate, is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies.
This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”
Updated
At least 11 labourers were killed and five others injured on Wednesday when a wall collapsed during heavy monsoon rains on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital.
Pakistan receives heavy – often destructive – rains during its annual monsoon season, which is crucial for agriculture and water supplies. However, studies show global heating is making extreme rain and catastrophic flooding, like the type that devastated Pakistan last year, more likely.
The men were crushed to death as they slept in tents next to the bridge that they were constructing in Islamabad.
The administration official Nehel Hafeez told AFP:
So far the dead bodies of 11 labourers have been recovered while five others have been injured in the incident.
The incident took place about 6.20am (0120 GMT) this morning after last night’s heavy rains.
Last year, Pakistan was lashed by unprecedented monsoon rains over the summer that put a third of the country underwater, damaging 2 million homes and killing more than 1,700 people.
At least 60 people have died in weather-related incidents across Pakistan since the end of June, according to AFP.
Updated
A satellite recording captured the wildfires spreading over Greece and Turkey on Tuesday. The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is monitoring the wildfires, which it says supports wildfire management.
Extreme temperatures are being felt around the world right now 🌡️ and the risk of wildfires increases in such dry conditions.
— EUMETSAT (@eumetsat) July 19, 2023
We can monitor #wildfire activity from space, as #MTGI1 captured over #Greece and #Türkiye over 24 hours (09:10 on 17 June - 09:00 UTC on 18 June) 🛰️🔥 pic.twitter.com/VK4hYiY1JQ
Updated
The Guardian’s Miles Brignall has put together some advice about what rights people with plans to travel across Europe have, given the sweltering temperatures and wildfires sweeping across the continent.
Click the link below to read more:
In Madrid, Spain, digital thermometers read temperatures above 40C, with some areas recording temperatures of 43C on 18 July 2023.
However, it is worth noting that the readings on street thermometers may differ slightly from the official highest temperature in each area.
An area of high pressure, named Cerberus after the underworld monster from Dante’s Inferno, is making its way across the country, leading 13 of the 17 autonomous communities to be categorised as either extreme risk (red alert), significant risk (orange alert) or (yellow alert).
Updated
Fossil fuels are largest contributor to climate crisis, says Global Witness
Patrick Galey, senior investigator at the international NGO Global Witness, has released a statement on the current global heatwave in which he says fossil fuels are the biggest contributing factor.
Galey said:
Fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to the climate change that is supercharging these deadly heatwaves, summer after summer. With hundreds of millions of people affected globally by extreme heat, we must remember the main driver of such temperature extremes: fossil fuels.
Burning oil, gas, and coal for energy accounts for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions, which trap the sun’s heat leading to the crop-withering and life-threatening heatwaves such as Cerberus and Charon currently baking southern Europe.
Instead of naming each heatwave after characters from the mythical underworld, perhaps we can start naming them after the oil and gas giants, who last year banked record profits and whose business plans are making unbearable hot spells more frequent, more intense, and longer lasting.
Updated
Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is expected to visit the national operations’ centre today to be briefed over the wildfires sweeping across the country.
The fire risk hazard was high throughout Greece and a second heatwave was forecast to start on Thursday.
Kostas Tsigas, head of the fire brigade officers association, told Greece’s Skai TV:
Conditions are extreme, and are likely to be so for another week
The blaze, which broke out on Monday in the region of Dervenochoria, about 30km (20 miles) north of Athens, spread rapidly as it was fanned by erratic winds and reached Mandra on Tuesday, burning houses and forcing people to flee, Reuters reports.
Updated
A public health group has recommended the introduction of siestas in Germany as temperatures soar in a sizzling summer heatwave.
Johannes Niessen, the head of the BVOeGD public health officers association, said Germans should follow the habits of people in the hotter climes of southern Europe, Reuters reports.
In an interview published by the RND media network on Tuesday, Niessen said:
Get up early, work productively in the morning, and take a siesta at midday.
People are not as efficient in strong heat as they are otherwise. Moreover, bad sleep in the absence of cooling in the night leads to concentration problems.
While Germany has escaped the kind of temperatures that hit southern Europe this week, it has sweltered in the mid-30s celsius, with Bavaria experiencing the country’s record high so far at 38.8C.
German health minister Karl Lauterbach said a siesta was “certainly no bad proposal” but employers and workers should negotiate this together.
The BDA employers association was open to the siesta proposal, saying that more flexible working hours could enable employees to take longer midday breaks if it suited both parties.
Niessen also called for “sufficient fans and lighter clothing, even if the attire rules for an office don’t allow it”.
He added:
A cold foot bath under the desk would be another option to stay cool while working from home.
Updated
AFP news agency tweeted this heat map, showing predicted temperatures in Asia from the global deterministic prediction system on 18 July, 6:00 GMT.
Asia heatwave. #AFPGraphics map showing predicted temperatures in Asia from the Global Deterministic Prediction System on July 18, 0600 GMT pic.twitter.com/zew63AJgjO
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 19, 2023
Lorenzo Tondo, the Guardian’s southern Italy correspondent
Electricity consumption reached a 2023 record on Tuesday afternoon as people turned on fans and ramped up the air conditioning to cope with the heatwave Italy is enduring, grid operator Terna has said.
The health ministry issued red weather alerts for 20 of the country’s 27 main cities on Tuesday, with the number expected to rise to 23 on Wednesday.
People currently don’t have many alternatives but to stay at home and turn on the air conditioning. As a result, consumption stood at 57.85GW at 2.45pm local time, just short of the 58.72GW forecast by Terna. Forty-five minutes earlier, at 2pm, consumption stood at 57,21GW and at 2.15pm it stood at 57.47GW.
Temperatures in Rome hit 41.8C on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 40.7C set in June 2022.
Sicily reached about 41C and there were highs of 45C in Sardinia. Hospitals across the country have seen a sharp rise in the number of people seeking emergency care for heat-related illnesses.
Updated
Extreme weather conditions around the world – summary
Extreme heat has been forecast across the globe again on Wednesday, as wildfires raged and health warnings were in place in parts of Asia, Europe and North America.
Firefighters battled blazes in parts of Greece and the Canary Islands, while Spain issued heat alerts and some children in Italy’s Sardinia were told to stay away from sports, AFP reports.
From California to China, authorities warned of the health dangers brought by searing temperatures, urging people to drink water and shelter from the sun.
“You can’t be in the street, it’s horrible,” said Lidia Rodriguez, 27, in Madrid.
Temperature records tumbled around the world, with new heat streaks set in China and the US, and fresh highs in France.
Beijing broke a 23-year-old record with 27 consecutive days of temperatures above 35C, forecasters said.
Phoenix broke a similar record, in place for 49 years, with its 19th consecutive day of temperatures of 43.3C or higher, weather officials said.
In southern France, a record 29.5C was recorded in the Alpine ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, while 40.6C had been recorded for the first time in Verdun in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
In a stark reminder of the effects of global warming, the UN’s World Meteorological Agency (WMO) said the trend showed “no signs of decreasing”.
“These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves,” John Nairn, a senior extreme heat adviser at the WMO told reporters in Geneva.
Updated
Kim Willsher, the Guardian’s Paris correspondent
France’s weather service Météo-France put nine departments in the south-east on high heatwave alert on Wednesday.
The departments are the Vaucluse, the Var, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, the Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône as well as the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
In its alert, Météo-France said it had recorded high overnight temperatures including 26C in Montpellier and Béziers, and 25C in Marseille and Nice at 5am local time.
French meteorologists have a specific term for heatwave, canicule. This is when high temperatures are recorded day and night over a period of three consecutive days. The temperature required to spark a canicule alert depends on the geographic area.
The nine departments are now on orange alert and if temperatures continue to rise for three consecutive days, this could change to red alert.
France has launched its national heatwave alert, introduced after high temperatures across the country in August 2003 caused the death of almost 15,000 people in two weeks.
The temperature in Paris between 4 and 12 August 2003 was above 36C for nine consecutive days – reaching a record 39.5C at the hottest, and did not drop below 20C during the nights.
Updated
Helena Smith, the Guardian’s correspondent in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, reports from Athens
Greek meteorologists are warning that the worst is still to come as the country braces for a second heat wave in as many weeks.
While gale-force winds, which have been fanning fires, are expected to subside climatic conditions that are both extremely hot and dry will ensure that the danger of wildfires persists.
The leading Greek weatherperson Theodoros Yiannaros told state-broadcaster ERT this morning:
Although the winds will recede from tomorrow [Thursday] this doesn’t mean that the danger of fires will lessen.
There will be a drop in danger perhaps tomorrow but during the weekend the risk will be very high … difficult times are ahead of us.
Temperatures are predicted to exceed 43C on Sunday, forecast to be a day hotter than any other so far this year.
Weather conditions are being likened to 2021 when Greece was hit by some of the worst forest fires in living memory.
Updated
Here are some more images from the wires of the wildfires that swept through forestland and towns north-west of Athens for a second day. The fires forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 children close to a Greek seaside resort.
Updated
Tourists flocked to China’s scenic Flaming Mountains to experience searing high temperatures amid punishing heatwaves that have scorched much of the northern hemisphere.
Wearing broad-brimmed hats and umbrellas for added protection, tourists took selfies by a 12-metre-tall thermometer that displayed a real-time surface temperature of 80C (176F), Chinese state television showed on Wednesday.
Each summer, curious tourists gather at the Flaming Mountains on the northern rim of the Turpan Depression in Xinjiang to admire their corrugated slopes of brown-red sandstone and feel the super-charged heat emanating from the ground.
In recent days, temperatures in Xinjiang and other parts of Asia have shattered records.
On Sunday, a remote township in the Turpan Depression registered a maximum temperature of 52.2C, smashing China’s national record of 50.3C that was also set in the basin in 2015.
On that day, the oasis city of Turpan west of the Flaming Mountains recorded temperatures of more than 45C at 31 local weather stations, with five of them breaking above 50C, according to state media on Wednesday.
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Here’s some pictures of people trying to cope with the heatwave, including a man trying to cool off in Rome on Tuesday, when temperatures topped 40C (104F). Red alerts for high temperatures have been issued for most of Italy.
And in Phoenix, Arizona, a woman drinks a bottle of water while walking in “The Zone”, a vast homeless encampment where hundreds of people reside, during a record heatwave in the US state – the 19th day of temperatures of at least 110F (43.3C)
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Tuesday marked the 19th day the city of Phoenix has been subjected to temperatures of at least 110F (43.3C) – the longest stretch of time spent in such brutal heat – as record-breaking summer weather continues to affect millions in the US and around the world.
The American city, which is the fifth biggest in the country, with a population of about 1.6 million that is expected to grow in the coming years, often ranks as the hottest or one of the hottest.
But pushing into new territory comes with amplified risks to human health, especially for those forced to endure the extreme conditions for longer periods of time. The previous record of 18 days at that temperature threshold was set in the city in 1974.
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VIDEO: Oppressive heatwave beats down on Rome.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 19, 2023
In Rome, the thermometer is expected rise to 42°C, beating the previous record of 40.5°C set in August 2007, as heatwaves suffocate Europe pic.twitter.com/VMqzNODOiI
Family of Texas inmates call for air conditioning
A heatwave that has pushed temperatures well above 37.8C (100F) across much of Texas this summer has led family members of inmates calling for lawmakers to ensure that all of the state’s prisons are fully air conditioned.
“They’re cooking our inmates in the Texas prison system,” said Tona Southards Naranjo, who believes the death last month of her son, Jon Southards, was caused by excessive heat in his prison, the Estelle Unit in Huntsville.
Naranjo was one of more than 60 people who attended a rally outside the Texas Capitol on Tuesday.
Advocates and others have been highly critical of the lack of air conditioning in the nation’s largest prison system, alleging temperatures that often exceed 49C (120F) inside Texas prisons in the summer have been responsible for hundreds of inmate deaths in recent years.
Only about 30% of Texas’s 100 prison units are fully air-conditioned, with the rest having partial or no air conditioning. Texas has more than 128,000 inmates.
However, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice(TDCJ) says there have been no heat-related deaths in the state’s prisons since 2012. Officials are still investigating what caused Jon Southards’s death, said Amanda Hernandez, a TDCJ spokesperson.
At least eight other inmate deaths in recent weeks that advocates allege are heat-related were either due to cardiac arrest or other medical conditions, Hernandez said. The cause of some are still under investigation.
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Staff at Athens tourist sites protest against heatwave working conditions
Staff at the Acropolis, Greece’s top tourist attraction, and other ancient sites in the country will stop work for four hours a day from Thursday in protest at working conditions during a heatwave, their union said.
Access to the Unesco-listed Acropolis had already been restricted for three days by the authorities from last Friday, but the measures were lifted on Monday as the thermometer dropped ahead of a new heatwave predicted from Thursday.
“Given the problems we have faced … in recent days, measures have been unanimously decided to protect the health of the security staff … as well as visitors,” the PEYFA union said.
Temperatures have surpassed 45C (113F), according to the union.
The Acropolis, which has had a major rise in visitor numbers in recent months, is normally open from 8am to 8pm every day, but the work stoppage will operate from 4pm.
The authorities have in recent days taken measures to help visitors cope, with tens of thousands of bottles of water handed out and sunshades erected.
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Greek wildfires burn into night
Two wildfires swept uncontrolled through forestland and towns north-west of Athens for a second day on Tuesday, Reuters reports, forcing more residents to flee their homes as authorities fought to stop the flames reaching an area with oil refineries.
One of the fire fronts stretched over 8km (five miles), according to witnesses and officials, burning homes and cars around the area of Mandra, west of the capital, which was blanketed by dense smoke.
“We are living a nightmare,” Mandra mayor Christos Stathis told Open TV. “Houses and properties are on fire.”
Late on Tuesday, the flames were headed toward the seaside town of Nea Peramos.
The blaze, which broke out on Monday in the region of Dervenochoria, about 30km north of Athens, spread fast as it was fanned by erratic winds and reached Mandra on Tuesday, forcing people to flee and burning houses.
As of 20.36 GMT, the flames were raging unchecked. Five coastguard vessels and private boats were on standby off Elefsina, ready to assist an emergency evacuation.
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Red weather alerts expected for more Italian cities
The World Meteorological Organization says the heatwave in the northern hemisphere is set to intensify. An estimated 61,000 people may have died in heatwaves last year in Europe alone.
The EU’s emergency response coordination centre issued red alerts for high temperatures for most of Italy, north-eastern Spain, Croatia, Serbia, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.
In Italy, temperatures on the island of Sardinia hit 44C (112F) and Rome topped out at 40C (104F) on Tuesday, as the health ministry issued red weather alerts for 20 of the country‘s 27 main cities, with the number expected to rise to 23 on Wednesday.
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Opening summary
This is the Guardian’s live coverage of the dangerous heatwaves and other extreme weather impacting people around the world, with me, Helen Sullivan.
Our top stories this morning: In Italy, the health ministry issued red weather alerts for 20 of the country’s 27 main cities on Tuesday, with the number expected to rise to 23 on Wednesday.
In Greece, two wildfires burned into the night through forestland and towns north-west of Athens on Tuesday, forcing more residents to flee their homes as authorities fought to stop the flames reaching an area with oil refineries.
We’ll have more on these and other developments in a moment.
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