Health
Man collapses as deadly heatwave hits Europe
Tourists in Southern Europe have been warned against a dangerous 48°C heatwave named Cerberus after a man in Italy collapsed and died.
The 44-year-old was working in the city of Lodi, southeast of Milan, as temperatures soared past 40°C yesterday, Italy24 reports.
The man, who was a road sign worker, collapsed in front of colleagues and later died in hospital.
His death is believed to have been linked to the extreme heatwave caused by anticyclone weather system Cerberus, which is creeping across the continent from the Sahara desert.
The Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily are expected to reach a record breaking 48°C.
The general secretary of Fenealuil Milan-Cremona-Lodi-Pavia, Salvatore Cutaia, said: ‘The climate is a cause of accident and also of death. This is a situation that could be repeated given the temperatures.
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‘We find ourselves once again having to mourn a 44-year-old worker who has only done his job.’
The anticyclone has been named after the three-headed dog from Greek mythology, who guards the gates to the underworld.
Conditions will also rise to 42°C in Cyprus, 38°C in Croatia and France will be basking in 37°C heat by the end of this week.
Meteorologist Stefano Rossi told Italian outlet La Stampa: ‘Metaphorically, the three heads indicate the three main climatic zones into which Italy will be divided.’
Thousands of holidaymakers in the Mediterranean are now being urged to take precautions in the extreme heat.
Temperatures are also predicted to rise to 45°C in southern Spain and 44°C in Greece this week.
The blistering heat comes not long after it was revealed that more than 61,000 people died across Europe due to heat during the continent’s hottest-ever summer last year., shocking new stats reveal.
Many British tourists are struggling to handle the heat, with one woman seen collapsing in front of the Colosseum in Rome as temperatures topped 36°C.
Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge said: ‘the heatwave conditions which are affecting parts of south west Europe and North West Africa are expected to extend eastward.
‘Communities in the affected regions should expect health impacts and the potential for wildfires.’