‘We’re sweating like hell’: As in the Vatican, tens of millions of people are facing a heatwave that continues into Sunday in the northern hemisphere, with fierce fires in California but also bad weather in Asia, a new graphic of global warming.
In Europe, where global warming is progressing at twice the global rate according to experts, many countries are suffering.
“I am really suffering from the heat. I bought a small fan, an umbrella and water bottles,” said Lilo da Costa Rosa, a 48-year-old Brazilian saleswoman who came from Lyon to visit Rome as the thermometer reached 34 degrees Celsius at 1:30 pm local time. .
In Italy, 16 cities are on red alert across the country, with expected temperatures of 36/37C, but temperatures approaching 40.
Regardless of the temperature, there are still 15,000 pilgrims and tourists who, according to the Vatican’s gendarmerie, congregate in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to hear Pope Francis say the prayers of the angels.
Among them is François Mbemba, a 29-year-old priest in the Diocese of Kinji near Kinshasa. He says: “This heat lasts until the night, and we have difficulty sleeping. Those of us who wear black clothes sweat like hell.”
“It’s hard to adapt, it’s hotter than in Africa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he says.
“burn everything”
Spain is witnessing the beginning of a new heat wave, after a very hot week, the consequences of which were felt on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, where a fire destroyed 5,000 hectares of land this weekend, forcing the evacuation of 4,000 people.
“I feel helpless watching everything burn, two whole villages being evacuated,” said Patricia Sanchez, 37, a member of the Spanish Red Crescent. On this island, which was devastated by a volcanic eruption in 2021 that forced the population to flee, “people who have already lost everything because of the volcano (Tagugate) and who have had to rebuild their lives in the north of the island, […] You risk losing everything again,” the rescuer worries.
In Romania, temperatures will be around 39°C on Monday in most parts of the country.
In Greece, where temperatures are expected to drop slightly, the authorities have finally decided that the Acropolis in Athens will remain closed to the public only on Sundays between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm local time and not from 11:30 am until 5 pm. :30 p.m. as they announced on Saturday night.
Local authorities urged people to be careful and warned of the high risk of fires.
fires
In the United States, the National Weather Service (NWS) has alerted that “a deadly and extremely dangerous heat wave is expected to hit the West this weekend, as well as certain places in the South.”
In the famous Death Valley, California, the thermometer rose to 51 degrees Celsius on Saturday evening, while the temperature is expected to reach 54 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
In addition to the high temperatures, Southern California is burning due to several violent fires still ongoing, which have already destroyed more than 1,214 hectares and prompted the evacuation of residents.
Other parts of the United States are at risk of severe weather.
“Strong to violent thunderstorms, heavy rain and flooding are possible in many places, especially and unfortunately in New England, which is already saturated” due to recent rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
In Canada, more than 10 million hectares have already burned this year, a far higher total than the country has ever known, according to a still tentative report with 906 fires still active Saturday in the country, including 570 deemed out of control. According to national figures released by the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center (CIFFC).
“Walking is tiring”
On Sunday, Japan issued heatstroke alerts for tens of millions of its residents, who live in 20 of the country’s 47 prefectures, as near-record temperatures hit much of the country.
In Tokyo, where the temperature reaches 36 degrees Celsius, Colin Greyson, 24, a French tourist, admits, “Just walking around is exhausting.” “We sweat without doing anything,” she told AFP.
“Since it’s hot out, I think we need to be aware and stay locked up as much as possible,” said Anthony Fernandez, 29, from the US.
“I get the impression that every time we visit somewhere, there is either a heat wave or a natural disaster,” the Texas tourist laments.
The country is also facing heavy rains that have claimed the lives of at least eight people, including a man who was found dead on Saturday in a flooded car in the north.
In South Korea, rescuers are struggling to reach people trapped in a tunnel that flooded after heavy rains in recent days left at least 33 dead and 10 missing.
China’s weather services issued several warning messages, predicting temperatures that could reach 45°C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang, and 39°C in the southern region of Guangxi.
The World Meteorological Organization recently stated that heat is one of the deadliest weather events. Last summer in Europe alone, high temperatures killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent study.
