A temperature of 48.8°C was
registered in the province of Siracusa on Wednesday by Sicily's
SIAS agency in what looks set to be a new European record.
"If the figure is confirmed after the appropriate analysis, it
could be the highest value ever registered on the European
continent," said 3bmeteo.com meteorologist Manuel Mazzoleni.
"That would beat the previous record of 48°C taken in Athens on
July 10, 1977 and it would even beat the record of 48.5°C
recorded at an unofficial station at Catenanuova in August
1999".
Italy is currently baking in the Lucifer heatwave, which is
expected to peak later this week.
Scientists say the climate crisis is causing heatwaves and
extreme weather events to be more frequent and more intense.
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