“Lucifer” melts Europe and beats the historical record for high temperatures: 48.8 ° in Sicily

Europe is on fire: thermometers break records (Photo: EFE)

An African subtropical high, called “Lucifer“It’s practically the melting of Europeans. The brand of 48.8 ° registered in the city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, in the south of Italy, broke all records.

If the recording is confirmed by the official authorities, it would mean a new record in Europe after the 48 degrees of Athens in 1977.

The new record was reported by the Agrometeorological Information Service (SIAS) of the Sicilian regional government. If validated by European bodies, it would exceed the 48 degrees recorded 44 years ago in the Greek capital, meteorologist Manuel Mazzoleni told the specialized portal. 3Bmeteo.

Italy has the hottest week of the year due to a heat wave caused by an African subtropical high called by the Italians “Lucifer” and which will remain active at least until the end of the week.

The heatwave is so strong that the south and west-central of the country are on high alert due to high temperatures, which in many cases exceed 45 degrees.

On the island of Sardinia 43.1 degrees were reached, in Calabria (the tip of the Italian boot) hit 42; and in Campania, with capital in Naples, and in the Lazio, Rome, it reached 40 degrees.

The civil protection service of the capital has, meanwhile, allowed several supply points with bottled water for the Romans and the thousands of tourists who, despite the heat, are walking around the city.

But the situation is not exclusive to Italy. Spain, France, Greece and the Balkan countries have taken measures to minimize the effects of this heatwave which, according to weather forecasts, will not give a truce until the weekend.

The high temperatures have caused numerous fires in large areas of the Mediterranean, especially in Italy and Greece.

Africa, even worse

But if the situation in Italy is alarming, on the African coast it is even worse. In Tunisia, for example, the temperature this Thursday exceeded 50 degrees to reach a maximum of 50.2 degrees in the city of Kairouan, center of the country. It is a record for the African continent, according to the National Meteorological Institute. The last time the country reported similar numbers was in 2005 in the Tataouine region, south and on the edge of the Sahara Desert, with 50.1 degrees.

In Algeria, the heatwave caused major fires that have already killed 69 people.