Cover news reporter Tang Chen intern Yang Haowei
On the afternoon of August 11, the Italian province of Sicily, Syracuse, measured a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius, a record that has been recognized by the local meteorological office in Sicily, but the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is still certifying the extreme heat. According to WMO, the previous highest temperature in Europe was the 48.0 degrees Celsius observed in Athens, Greece, in 1977. If the reported temperatures in Sicily are confirmed, they will be the highest in European history.
This summer, the Mediterranean region was affected by persistently hot and strong winds, with the worst wildfires in recent years. Temperatures in the Mediterranean coast are 5-10 degrees Celsius higher this week than in previous years, and fires caused by high temperatures have killed many people. Large-scale fires have struck in countries such as Turkey, Italy and Greece, with heavy losses in some areas. The heat wave even crossed the Mediterranean Sea and extended to Algeria. A total of 116 fires have reportedly occurred in the northern region of Algeria since the 9th, and 69 people have died so far.
Natural disasters caused by extreme weather are not only wildfires, but many parts of the Mediterranean region are also battling floods, tsunamis and other disasters. Torrential rains in Turkey's Black Sea region have triggered flooding that has killed 17 people and left many unaccounted for. Santa Paula, the resort town of Alicante in eastern Spain, has been hit by a "meteorological tsunami" and urban roads have been flooded in recent days.
On 9 August, the UnIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) officially released the report of Working Group I of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report. The report points out that human activities are a major cause of global warming and extreme weather. Humanity must take urgent action to jointly address climate threats on a scale unprecedented in human history.
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