An intense and prolonged heatwave has triggered top-level heat alerts across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and East Asia. In several regions, temperatures neared or exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, with South Korea setting a new national record and Britain experiencing one of its driest Julys on record.
Italy placed 25 of its 27 major cities under red heat alerts on Monday, the highest level issued by the Health Ministry, as temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius across much of the country.
The latest heatwave is forecast to last at least through Friday. Health authorities urged people to limit outdoor activity and avoid prolonged exposure to high temperatures and direct sunlight.
The extreme conditions have also underscored unusually dry weather in Britain. Preliminary Met Office data showed nationwide rainfall in July totaled 35 percent of the long-term average, making it the country's third-driest July on record.
Southern England received just 1.9 millimeters of rain, or 3 percent of its average July rainfall, its driest July since records began there in 1836.
Heat alerts also remained in effect across parts of the western United States, including California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Las Vegas reached 46 degrees Celsius on Saturday, its highest temperature this year.
Egypt is bracing for another spell of intense heat, with daytime highs forecast at 41 to 44 degrees Celsius in the Nile Delta and Greater Cairo, and above 45 degrees in parts of Upper Egypt in the south.
In East Asia, South Korea was set to activate its highest-level heatwave warning at 11:00 local time Tuesday for Seoul, parts of Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital and parts of South Jeolla Province in the southwest.
The warning followed a temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius in Yangsan, a city in the country's southeast, on Sunday—the highest recorded in South Korea since observations began in 1904. Yangsan had registered temperatures above 40 degrees for five consecutive days.
Japan also reported temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday in Kyushu, its southwestern main island. Dazaifu in Fukuoka Prefecture recorded 40.2 degrees, while Saga City reached 40.1 degrees.
Japan had already recorded temperatures of at least 40 degrees for five consecutive days from July 21 to 25, its longest such stretch since comparable records began in 2010.
Extreme heat shatters records and sparks top-level alerts in multiple countries
Extreme heat shatters records and sparks top-level alerts in multiple countries
