Spain endures hottest day of the year as 16 Italian cities put on red alert

14 August 2021, 17:34

Spain heatwave
Spain Europe Heatwave. Picture: PA

Temperatures in the mid-40s Celsius were forecast for the Sicilian cities of Palermo and Catania

Spain endured its hottest day of the year Saturday, with temperatures topping 45C, while authorities in Italy expanded the number of cities on red alert for health risks to 16, as a heatwave engulfed southern Europe.

The hottest temperature by late afternoon was recorded in Ecija, Seville, at 46.5C, shy of the country’s all-time record of 46.9 Celsius hit in Cordoba in July 2017.

Europe’s heat record came in Athens in 1977 at 48C.

In the southern Spanish province of Granada, where the mercury rose to 45.4C, few people ventured outside.

Those who did sought shade and stopped to take photos of public thermometers displaying the rocketing temperatures.

Ice cream parlours did a brisk trade, and some restaurants installed sprinklers to spray mists of water over sweating guests.

Miriam Garcia, a student, wished she had not stepped outside.

“It is very hot, we have to drink water and put on sun cream all the time, stopping to have a drink at a bar every so often,” she said. “It would be better to be at home than in the street, it’s so hot.”

Spain heatwave
People cool off in a public pool in Barcelona (Joan Mateu Parra/AP)

Dominic Roye, a climate scientist at the University of Santiago de Compostela, said hot air from the Sahara Desert that has brought days of heat and fuelled hundreds of wildfires across Mediterranean countries shows no signs of ending any time soon.

“The heatwave we are experiencing now is very extreme and a lot of people are saying that it’s normal, as we are in summer. But it’s not, not this hot,” Mr Roye said.

With night-time temperatures forecast to exceed 25C in much of Spain, Roye worried about residents who cannot afford air conditioning and other vulnerable people, like the homeless or outdoor workers.

“The more intense the heat, the higher the mortality risk,” he said.

“When you have high night temperatures, our bodies are prevented from resting.

“The body is working and working to cool down. We have found a strong link between mortality and night temperatures exceeding 20C.”

Spain heatwave
Children cool off in a fountain in a park in Madrid (Andrea Comas/AP)

Authorities in Italy also raised concerns about older adults and other people at risk as they expanded heat warnings to 16 cities.

Temperatures in the mid-40s Celsius were forecast for the Sicilian cities of Palermo and Catania, and as high as 37C for Rome, Florence and Bologna, all places that the health ministry put on red alert.

Italians sought respite at the sea and in the mountains from the aptly named Lucifer anti-cyclone that was bringing hot air from Africa during Italy’s peak summer holiday weekend.

High temperatures were forecast to continue through Sunday, the traditional Ferragosto holiday on the religious feast of the Assumption of Mary, which marks the summer holiday exodus from Italian cities.

Lifeguard dogs on the beach of Ostia,
Lifeguard dogs on the beach of Ostia, on the outskirts of Rome(Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse/AP)

In Rome, drinking fountains provided relief, while authorities kept tourists away from ornamental fountains like the famed Trevi Fountain, fearing imitators of Anita Ekberg’s soaking in the film La Dolce Vita.

“I put my head under the water at each fountain, drinking a lot, staying in the shade as much as I can,” said Alessia Pagani, who was visiting from the northern city of Brescia.

High humidity accompanied the high temperatures, making it feel even hotter. Storms in the north were forecast to bring the first signs of relief starting on Monday.

“More than anything else, fresh air from the Atlantic will bring a coolness and greater ventilation that will sweep away the humidity and make the air much more breathable,’’ Lt Col Filippo Petrucci of the Italian air force’s weather service told RAI state TV.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’