Temperatures continued to reach extreme highs across many parts of the northern hemisphere Monday, with the mercury in parts of Italy poised to hit 45 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and wildfires raging in Greece and Spain signaling the latest fierce warning of the effects of the climate crisis.

In Italy, where temperatures later in the week could push close to the European record of 48.8 degrees Celsius, set in the Sicilian town of Floridia in August 2021, Italians were warned to brace themselves for “the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time.”

As heatwaves engulfed the globe, temperatures in California’s Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, approached a world record last Sunday after reaching 53.3 degrees Celsius.

In a stark warning to world leaders earlier Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, wrote on Twitter: “In many parts of the world, today is predicted to be the hottest day on record. And these records have already been broken a few times this year. Heatwaves put our health and lives at risk. The #ClimateCrisis is not a warning. It’s happening. I urge world leaders to act now.”

Italy’s health ministry said Monday that 23 Italian cities, including Rome, Florence, Bologna, Bari, Catania, Cagliari, Palermo and Turin, would be on “red alert” by Wednesday, a measure that means the heat is so intense, it poses a threat to the health of the entire population, not just children and elderly people.

Temperatures in Rome, which is packed with tourists, are poised to climb to 42 degrees Celsius or 43 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, wildfires raging close to seaside resorts south of Athens have destroyed untold numbers of homes and cars. In Spain, a wildfire that started last Saturday on the Canary island of La Palma continued to burn out of control Monday, although authorities said weaker winds and cooler temperatures in the area were aiding the firefighters’ efforts. The blaze has burned 4,600 hectares of mostly woody hill land and 20 houses and buildings.

Spokesperson Rubén del Campo of Spain’s Aemet weather agency said an anticyclone was pushing a hot mass of air from Africa towards Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The agency predicts that with the heat and dry air, the risk of wildfires will soar.

Research published last week said there were 61,672 heat-related deaths last summer, the hottest recorded in Europe. The mortality rate was highest in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. A road worker died of a heat-related illness in Milan last week.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【吞噬】tūnshì engulf surround and cover something or someone completely

【反气旋】fǎnqìxuán anticyclone a large scale circulation of winds around an a center point of high atmospheric pressure

本周一（7月17日）北半球许多地区延续极端高温天气，意大利部分地区周二或将达到45摄氏度的高温，与此同时，希腊和西班牙山火肆虐再次警告人们气候危机已经来临。

意大利本周接下来几天的气温可能会逼近2021年8月西西里岛弗洛里迪亚镇创下的欧洲最高温纪录48.8摄氏度，意大利警告民众做好准备应对“今夏最强热浪也是史上最强高温天气”。

在热浪席卷全球的同时，上周日（7月16日）美国加州死亡谷的气温也达到了53.3摄氏度，逼近世界最高温纪录。死亡谷是地球上最热的地方之一。

本周一世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞在推特上向世界领导人发出严正警告：

“世界上许多地区，今天将会是有史以来最热的一天。今年以来高温纪录已经被打破多次。热浪让我们的健康和生命陷入了危险境地。#气候危机不是警告，它正在发生。我强烈要求世界领导人立即采取行动。”

意大利卫生部长周一宣布，包括罗马、佛罗伦萨、博洛尼亚、巴里、卡塔尼亚、卡利亚里、巴勒莫、都灵在内的23个意大利城市周三前将发布“高温红色预警”，这意味着将出现超高温天气，对所有人口（不只是老人和小孩）的健康都会造成威胁。

游客扎堆的罗马本周二气温预计将达到42或43摄氏度。

与此同时，希腊雅典南部海边度假胜地附近肆虐的山火已经烧毁了数不清的房屋和车辆。

在西班牙，上周六在加那利群岛中的拉帕尔马岛上爆发的山火本周一火势仍在蔓延，难以控制。当地政府部门表示，该地区较弱的风力和较低的气温对消防员的灭火工作有所助力。大火已经烧毁了4600公顷土地，大部分为山林地区，还烧毁了20座房屋和建筑。

西班牙国家气象局发言人鲁本•德尔•坎波称，反气旋正在将一团热空气从非洲吹向西班牙和其他地中海国家。气象局预测，在高温和干燥天气下，山火风险将会大增。

上周发布的调查报告称，去年夏天是欧洲有史以来最热的夏天，因高温引发的死亡人数达到了61672人。意大利、希腊、西班牙和葡萄牙的死亡率最高。上周米兰有一名道路工人因高温导致的疾病而死亡。(SD-Agencies)