Latest news with #TommasoDellaLonga
Observer
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Observer
Europe scorched: France closes schools, Italy reduces work
PARIS/MADRID: Italy banned outdoor work in some regions during the warmest hours, France shut schools and part of the Eiffel Tower and Spain confirmed its hottest June on record as a severe heatwave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. The risks of working outside in searing temperatures were highlighted as Spanish trade unions attributed the death of a construction worker near Bologna on Monday to the heat. In Barcelona, authorities were looking into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekend was also heat-related. Turkey continued to battle wildfires which forced the temporary evacuation of around 50,000 people on Monday in areas surrounding the city of Izmir, the province of Manisa and Hatay in the southeast. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves starting earlier in the year and persisting for longer. "What is exceptional ... but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis, adding that extreme heat episodes were seen now "which normally we would see later on in the summer." Higher temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea tend to reinforce extreme temperatures over land areas, she said. The Mediterranean Sea hit a record 30 C off Spain, six degrees above the seasonal average, Spanish weather forecaster AEMET said, as a high pressure system trapped hot air above Europe, a phenomenon known as a heat dome. Spain recorded its hottest June last month, with an average temperature of 23.6 C, AEMET said. Indeed, for the continent, the month likely ranks among the five warmest Junes on record, Copernicus said. England experienced its hottest June since at least 1884, the Met Office said, citing provisional data. The Red Cross set up an air-conditioned "climate refuge" for residents in southern Malaga, said IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa, while in Germany, people hit the ski slopes to avoid heat in the cities. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. The heat was set to peak in France on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Nearly 1,900 schools were closed, up from around 200 on Monday. A Paris-Milan rail service was disrupted because of a mudslide on the French side of the Alps, with full service not expected to be fully restored until mid-July, French rail operator SNCF said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, disappointing scores of visitors. "I tried to get all organised before our departure and the result is nonsense," said Laia Pons, 42, a teacher from Barcelona who booked Eiffel tickets for her family three years ago. When temperatures rise, the puddled iron used to build the Eiffel Tower expands in size and tilts slightly, with no impact on its structural integrity, according to its website. Italy, meanwhile, issued heatwave red alerts for 17 cities, including Milan and Rome. In Sicily, a woman with a heart condition died while walking in the city of Bagheria, news agencies reported, possibly of heatstroke. - AFP
DW
01-07-2025
- Climate
- DW
Europe heat wave intensifies as temperature records broken – DW – 07/01/2025
As Europe bakes in the summer heat, parts of Italy and France are on red alert, with Spain and Portugal seeing record temperatures. Schools and tourist attractions have closed, and conditions have turned deadly. The world willl have to live with heat waves, according to the World Meterological Organization (WMO). The United Nation's weather and climate agency has said that heat waves could occur more often and be more intense. "As a result of human-induced climate change, extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense. It's something we have to learn to live with," said WMO spokewoman Clare Nullis. The heat wave in Europe is the result of strong high pressure system which is trapping hot air from Northern Africa. WMO said early warnings and action plans are crucial in protecting the public. Organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) are ready to help people across the continent. "Volunteers are giving out water and checking on the most vulnerable populations, including people experiencing homelessness, older people, and outdoor workers," IFRC spokesman Tommaso Della Longa. On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the extreme heat is a "new normal." In France, red alerts have been issued for 16 departments, including Paris, with temperatures expected to reach 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit). Visitors without tickets are being told to postpone trips to the Eiffel Tower, with the uppermost level remaining closed until Thursday. Operators say the shutdown is "to ensure everyone's comfort and safety." More than 1,300 schools have closed, hospitals are preparing for heat-related cases, and traffic restrictions are in place in Greater Paris. Fire crews are on high alert for wildfires, while heavy storms have triggered mudslides in the Alps. Cooler weather is forecast for the country from Wednesday. Climate experts warn that future summers are set to become hotter than any on record. By 2100, France could be up to 4 C warmer, with temperatures topping 40 C every year and extreme spikes possibly hitting 50 C. Italy's health ministry says 17 of the country's 27 major cities are under a heat wave alert. As the country's north was battered by torrential rain on Monday, parts of Bardonecchia near Turin were left buried in sludge after the Frejus river burst its banks. Near Bologna, one of the cities under alert on Tuesday, a 46-year-old construction company owner collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, according to state-run RAI. An autopsy is underway to confirm the cause, but heat is suspected. First of all, those suffering from heat exhaustion should immediately be taken out of the sun, to a cool place or into the shade, and drink water as quickly as possible. Cold, damp cloths can help cool the body. In addition, someone with heat exhaustion should drink plenty of fluids to bring hydration levels back to normal. Cold water or sports drinks replenish lost salts, but avoid alcohol and caffeine. These can dehydrate you even more, on top of excessive sweating, which, according to experts, can cause additional fluid loss of up to 2 liters on very hot days. Until the symptoms get better, you need to rest. It's important to know that in severe cases, severe vomiting, confusion or even unconsciousness can occur. If that happens, you should see a doctor, if only to rule out heat has recorded its highest-ever June temperature at 46.6 degrees Celsius in Mora, east of Lisbon, beating the previous June record from 2017, according to the IPMA weather agency. More than a third of monitoring stations have registered over 40 C on Sunday, with several regions under red alert for extreme heat and wildfire risk. Spain's weather service Aemet says last month has been the hottest June on record nationwide, with an average temperature of 23.6 C. El Granado near Portugal's border reached 46 C on Saturday, a new June high, while Barcelona posted a sweltering 37.6 C — despite its coastal location. Scientists say human-driven climate change is making heat waves more intense, with heat domes trapping hotter air. The German Weather Service said it expected temperatures to cross 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, with Tuesday and Wednesday set to be the hottest days of the summer so far. German education trade unions have called for nationwide heat protection regulations in schools amid the heatwave. "There must be uniform occupational health and safety regulations for students and school employees," said Anja Bensinger-Stolze, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW), in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) newspapers. In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, Bensinger-Stolze continued, a "nationwide supply of free drinking water" is necessary for all children, young people, and employees. German hospitals are also requesting additional funding to retrofit clinics. "Severe heat poses challenges for hospitals and staff. Due to a lack of investment funds, only a few hospitals have air-conditioned rooms, offices, and waiting rooms," said Gerald Gass, the head of the German Hospital Federation (DKG), in an interview with the newspaper. "In the long term, we need a climate protection and adaptation program to renovate old buildings," he said, adding that this was the only way clinics can protect patients and staff from the consequences of climate change. Currently, hospitals rely on measures such as shading facades and cooling packs, Gass explained. We are following the heat wave in Europe as red alerts are in place across the continent. Here in Germany, temperatures have soared, with some areas in the south expected to reach near 40 degrees Celsius. Two people are suspected to have died because of the heat in Italy and Spain. The heat wave comes as Spain and Portugal announce that heat records were broken in the month of June. We'll bring you the latest updates, explainers and analyses on the extreme weather conditions in Europe.
MTV Lebanon
01-07-2025
- Climate
- MTV Lebanon
Heatwave Grips Europe: France Closes Schools, Italy Restricts Outdoor Work
Italy banned outdoor work in some regions during the warmest hours, France shut schools and part of the Eiffel Tower and Spain confirmed its hottest June on record as a severe heatwave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. The risks of working outside in searing temperatures were highlighted as trade unions attributed the death of a construction worker near the Italian city Bologna on Monday to the heat. In Barcelona, authorities were looking into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekend was also heat-related. Turkey continued to battle wildfires which forced the temporary evacuation of around 50,000 people on Monday in areas surrounding the city of Izmir, the province of Manisa and Hatay in the southeast. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves starting earlier in the year and persisting for longer. "What is exceptional ... but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis, adding that extreme heat episodes were seen now "which normally we would see later on in the summer." Higher temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea tend to reinforce extreme temperatures over land areas, she said. The Mediterranean Sea hit a record 30 C (86 F) off Spain, six degrees above the seasonal average, Spanish weather forecaster AEMET said, as a high pressure system trapped hot air above Europe, a phenomenon known as a heat dome. JUNE A SCORCHER Spain recorded its hottest June last month, with an average temperature of 23.6 C, AEMET said. Indeed, for the continent, the month likely ranks among the five warmest Junes on record, Copernicus said. England experienced its hottest June since at least 1884, the Met Office said, citing provisional data. The Red Cross set up an air-conditioned "climate refuge" for residents in southern Malaga, said IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa, while in Germany, people hit the ski slopes to avoid heat in the cities. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. The heat was set to peak in France on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Nearly 1,900 schools were closed, up from around 200 on Monday. A Paris-Milan rail service was disrupted because of a mudslide on the French side of the Alps, with full service not expected to be fully restored until mid-July, French rail operator SNCF said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, disappointing scores of visitors. "I tried to get all organised before our departure and the result is nonsense," said Laia Pons, 42, a teacher from Barcelona who booked Eiffel tickets for her family three years ago. When temperatures rise, the puddled iron used to build the Eiffel Tower expands in size and tilts slightly, with no impact on its structural integrity, according to its website.
Asharq Al-Awsat
30-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Aid Blockage Making Gaza 'Hungriest Region on Earth', UN Office Says
Israel is blocking all but a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, with almost no ready-to-eat food entering what its spokesperson described as "the hungriest place on earth". Spokesperson Jens Laerke said only 600 of 900 aid trucks had been authorized to get to Israel's border with Gaza, and from there a mixture of bureaucratic and security obstacles made it all but impossible to safely carry aid into the region, Reuters reported. "What we have been able to bring in is flour," he told a regular news conference on Friday. "That's not ready to eat, right? It needs to be cooked... 100% of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine." Tommaso della Longa, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, added that half of its medical facilities in the region were out of action for lack of fuel or medical equipment.
LBCI
30-05-2025
- General
- LBCI
Israel aid blockage making Gaza 'hungriest region on earth,' UN office says
Israel is blocking all but a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, with almost no ready-to-eat food entering what its spokesperson described as "the hungriest place on earth." Spokesperson Jens Laerke said only 600 of 900 aid trucks had been authorized to get to Israel's border with Gaza, and from there, a mixture of bureaucratic and security obstacles made it all but impossible to carry aid into the region safely. "What we have been able to bring in is flour," he told a regular news conference on Friday. "That's not ready to eat, right? It needs to be cooked... 100% of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine." Tommaso della Longa, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, added that half of its medical facilities in the region were out of action due to a lack of fuel or medical equipment. Reuters
