European heatwave - latest updates as red alerts and record temperatures continue

The World Health Organisation (WMO) today urged governments and local authorities to set up a strong surveillance system for people who are most at risk of severe symptoms from a heatwave that is baking the northern hemisphere.

People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, children and homeless people, are seen as the most vulnerable to heatwaves that have scorched parts of Europe, Asia and the United States this week.

Maria Neira, director of the public health, environment and social determinants of health department at the WHO, told journalists on Wednesday: "We are very concerned about those who are most vulnerable. And clearly, the heatwaves can exacerbate all of those pre existing diseases."

While the El Nino weather phenomenon has been seen as the reason for the heatwave this year, global warming has been further exacerbating the issue, causing erratic weather patterns globally.

Dr Malcolm Mistry, Assistant Professor in Climate and Geo-spatial Modelling, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The large-scale wave-like wind pattern in the upper atmosphere known as the Jet stream is a fast-moving wind that flows from west to east at a global scale.

“Currently, the Jet stream from North America to Europe is stuck in a position that is roughly south of the English Channel in a U-shape flow, with both the trough and the crest of this wave lying south of the UK.

“To the north of the jet stream, we have cooler Arctic air and areas of low pressure, which in turn bringing rain spells to the UK.

“To the south of the jet stream, we have an opposite weather pattern with a high-pressure system stalled drawing hot air from north Africa and maintaining the hot dry conditions.

“A similar pattern currently exists over the US with the Jet stream positioned approximately in southern US with a stalled high-pressure weather pattern over large parts of California, Texas and Florida for instance, thus giving rise to abnormally high temperatures, but with the northern states having below average temperatures in some instances.

“Since this Jet Stream is a large-scale wave pattern, parts of Asia too are experiencing similar blocking patterns with hot air being drawn to specific mainland regions (such as China), thereby increasing the temperatures to above normal conditions that would be expected this time of the year.”

Wildfires have continued to rage in Greece for a third day.

Hundreds have fled the areas for safety.

Dozens of homes in Athens have been gutted while a third fire broke out on the island of Rhodes.

Dr Vikki Thompson, Climate Scientist, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, said: “Although heatwaves kill thousands, and are often called a ‘silent killer’ one positive is that the health impacts can be reduced. Simply communicating the risks can reduce health impacts considerably.

“Relatively simple measures such as adjusting work hours for outdoor workers, ensuring access to water, and providing public cooling centres, can make huge differences to the impacts of extreme heat on human health.”

Italian hospitals in the worst-hit regions have seen a spike in patients seeking help for heat-related emergencies.

Temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the country just one day after record highs were recorded in a number of cities, including the capital Rome.

Lazio region, which is centred on Rome, saw a 20 per cent increase in medical emergencies on Wednesday.

Giulio Maria Ricciuto, head of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (SIMEU) in Lazio, said: "What we are also noticing, linked to the heat, is an increase in admissions for psychiatric pathologies... even suicidal tendencies."

Prof Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, said: “Last year in Europe alone, over 60,000 people died of consequence of the heat showing that there are limits to our current adaptation.

“Air conditioning will help inside buildings, but does not protect people working outside and will increase use of electricity increasing the problem.

“Building interventions can help keeping homes cooler and we can change our behaviour. Heatproofing our cities will take longer time to implement. The effectiveness of all of these will depend on how hot it will become.

“Nature has fewer options and species are moving up mountains and towards the poles to evade the heat.

“Such a migration changes ecosystems and food webs. Reforestation, habitat restoration are long term strategies to increase resilience of ecosystems but they do not remove the problem of extreme heat. Only mitigation does.”

Bookings for UK staycations have seen a 14% increase year-on-year since the start of July according to holidaycottages.co.uk.

In the last week alone, the company, which is one of the UK’s leading holiday letting agencies, has also reported a further 14 per cent increase in general searches for properties on its website which it attributes as a direct result of the European heatwave and airline disruption which is making people think twice when it comes to travelling abroad.

Juliette Parry, Head of Brand for holidaycottages.co.uk, said: "We’re certainly seeing people choosing to avoid unprecedented temperatures and also potential flight disruption by postponing or cancelling their trip abroad and opting for a holiday or short break in the UK instead.

“The UK certainly has a whole host of beautiful destinations right on its doorstep, with Cornwall, Wales and Scotland amongst our ‘top searched destinations’ right now. With a choice of over 15,000 holiday homes, even if you’re needing to change your holiday plans last-minute, we have something available for every budget and every kind of relaxation.”

Saudi Arabia joined the group of countries that have reached the temperature of 50C this year, with 50.5C being recorded at Al Ahsa on Tuesday, according to a climatologist and weather historian.

Maximiliano Herrera tweeted that nine countries have now recorded temperatures of or exceeding 50C.

A satellite image of the Mediterranean region showing a high concentration of dust forecast for Wednesday has been released by The European Space Agency.

It said the western Mediterranean basin is set to be affected by high concentrations of Saharan dust, further exacerbating the extreme weather conditions of recent days.

In Greece, the situation is compounded by ongoing wildfires, which have devastated areas near Athens and in Eastern Peloponnese, forcing residents to evacuate.

The image is based on data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), which provides detailed dust forecasts for the region, helping to monitor and understand the distribution and impact of these dust concentrations.

A heatwave in the Gaza Strip that has sent temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) worsened power shortages and sparked discontent among residents who expressed frustration with the ruling Islamist Hamas group.

Hamas, which has run the territory since 2007 blames a 16-year-long Israeli blockade for devastating Gaza's economy and undermining development, including the power network.

More than 2.3 million people live in a narrow strip of land squeezed between Egypt and Israel, suffering power cuts for up to 12 hours a day.

The crisis has provoked an unusual wave of social media protests. While asserting Israel was primarily responsible for the Gaza problem, residents demanded action from Hamas. Some called for street protests.

Jalal Ismail, the Hamas-appointed chairman of the Gaza Energy Authority, said the current problem was driven by the soaring heatwave.

"We haven't witnessed such heat in years, and we get electricity for around six hours a day, so I can't fan my children, so I am using the plastic tray to fan them because of the severe heat," said Yasmin Fojo, a mother of five from Nahrelbared camp in southern Gaza Strip.