Mercury melts records as heatwaves scorch the globe

Temperatures are reached new highs as heatwaves and bushfires scorch swaths of the northern hemisphere.

Firefighters battle flames southeast of Athens on Monday. Picture: AFP

Temperatures reached new highs on Monday as heatwaves and bushfires scorched swaths of the northern hemisphere, forcing the evacuation of 1200 children close to a Greek seaside resort.

Health authorities have sounded alarms from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and shelter from the burning sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming.

Near Athens, a forest fire flared in strong winds by the popular beach town of Loutraki where the mayor said holiday camps for children had come under threat.

Emergency services were also battling fires in Kouvaras and the resorts of Lagonissi, Anavyssos and Saronida near Athens. Several homes were burned in the area.

“The extreme weather … is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” the World Meteorological Organisation said.

“This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”

Temperatures in Rome hit a near-record 39C on Monday.

It was already the world’s hottest June on record, according to the EU weather monitoring service, and July looks to be readying to challenge its own record.

Italians were warned to prepare for “the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time”, with a red alert issued for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.

Spain enjoyed little reprieve with temperatures of 47C in the southern town of Villarrobledo.

China reported a record for mid-July in the northwest of the country, where temperatures reached 52.2C in the Xinjiang ­region’s village of Sanbao, breaking the previous high of 50.6C set six years ago.

Heatstroke alerts had been ­issued in 32 out of Japan’s 47 prefectures, mainly in central and southwestern regions.

Police fight a raging fire in Lagonisi, 35km outside Athens, on Monday. Picture: AFP

At least 60 people were treated for heatstroke, including 51 taken to hospital in Tokyo.

In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40C until Thursday, a 90-year-old man died from heatstroke and three other seniors were hospitalised.

In western and southern US states, which are used to high temperatures, more than 80 million people were under advisories as a “widespread and oppressive” heatwave roasted the region.

California’s Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, reached a near-record 52C on Sunday.

In Arizona, state capital Phoenix tied its record of 18 consecutive days above 43C as temperatures hit 45C on Monday afternoon.

In southern California, several fires ignited over the past few days in rural areas east of Los Angeles. The biggest, Rabbit Fire, had burned nearly 3300ha by Monday.

In neighbouring Canada, 882 fires were active on Monday, including 579 considered out of control. Smoke from the fires has descended on the US again, prompting air quality alerts across much of the northeast.

Along with the heat, parts of Asia have also been battered by torrential rain.

South Korea’s President vowed on Monday to “completely overhaul” the country’s approach to extreme weather, after 41 people were killed in recent flooding and landslides during monsoon rains, which are forecast to continue through to Wednesday.

 

Rescue workers recovered the last body and ended search operations at a flooded underpass in n Cheongju, North Chungcheong province. The interior ministry saidnine were still missing nationwide in the heavy downpours, most of them buried by landslides or falling into a flooded reservoir.

The Cheongju tunnel was inundated on Saturday morning after floodwaters swept in too quickly for the cars inside to escape. A total of 17 vehicles, including a bus, were trapped and 14 people were killed, the interior ministry said.

A quarter million people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam before a major typhoon roared ashore late on Monday, bringing fierce winds and rain and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and trains.

Typhoon Talim, the fourth of the year, made landfall on the coast of Guangdong province at 10.20pm (12.20am Tuesday AEST), bearing maximum winds of 136.8km/h.

AFP