Floods and heatwave in Italy lead to two deaths amid extreme weather
The two deaths occurred as an African anticyclone continued to spread across the European continent, hitting Spain, Portugal, France, and even the UK and sparking a major heatwave.
In Bardonecchia — a mountain tourist resort near Turin — heavy rain caused the Frejus river to flood on Monday, leading water and mud to overflow onto local roads. The 70-year-old Bardonecchia resident drowned after he attempted to get out of his van, according to reports.
Authorities urged residents and holidaymakers to stay inside and away from the banks of the Frejus.
Also on Monday, a 47-year-old construction worker died near Bologna after suffering a suspected heatstroke while pouring concrete. An autopsy has been ordered in a bid to determine the cause of his death.
Following the incident, Italian trade unions Bologna CGIL and Fillea-Cgil said they were "waiting to know the actual cause of death".
"At this terrible time, it is essential to promote a culture of safety. The weather emergency has aggravated the conditions of those who work outside every day, and companies must give absolute priority to protecting workers," they pointed out.
As the scorching heat continues, authorities on Tuesday placed several regions in northern Italy under a yellow weather alert, while 17 cities scattered across the country—including Florence, Bologna, and Turin—were either under yellow alert or placed on an even higher red alert.
In light of the extreme heat, multiple Italian regions have decided to ban outdoor work activities during the hottest hours of the day until August 31.
This measure has been implemented in regions including Lazio — home to Italy's capital, Rome — Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Umbria, Tuscany, Liguria, Campania and Calabria.
Meanwhile in the northern region of Lombardy, work in construction areas, quarries, farms and floricultural businesses will be halted on days when there is a particularly "high" risk.
Temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius in France and Italy on Monday, while they exceeded 43 degrees in Spain and Portugal.
However, in recent days, the record has been topped by temperatures recorded in the city of Huelva, located in the Spanish region of Andalusia, which reached 46 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
In light of climate change, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, with heatwaves, droughts and floods occurring only days apart.
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France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Climate change is changing the geography of infectious disease
Europe is unusually hot. Several cities in France have been placed on an 'unprecedented' high alert on Tuesday, Spain recorded a scorching high of 46 degrees Celsius on Monday while wildfires in Turkey caused by a heatwave have forced more than 50,000 people to be evacuated from five regions in the western province of Izmir. While the heat is uncharacteristically strong, extreme weather is no longer a surprise. Science agrees that climate change caused by steadily increasing greenhouse emissions has been the primary factor for the scorching new reality that the world is forced to adapt to, be it heatwaves, floods, droughts or extreme cold. While the cumulative meteorological changes might make life more difficult for people, bacteria, pathogens and viruses are thriving in a world that's getting hotter and more humid. Climate change is bringing 'tropical', climate sensitive illnesses up north, into Europe, shifting the geography of global infectious disease. The migration of disease 'Over half of all infectious diseases confronted by humanity worldwide have been at some point aggravated and even strengthened by climatic hazards,' says Dr Aleksandra Kazmierczak, an expert on the relationship between climate change and human health at the European Environment Agency (EEA). Kazmierczak says that climatic conditions have made Europe more suitable for vector and water borne disease. 'There is a northward, temporal shift because the current climate is more suitable for pathogens. Disease season is longer – ticks, for example, are now active all year round in many places.' One of the fastest growing infectious diseases in Europe is dengue. 304 cases were reported in Europe in 2024 alone – compared to 275 cases recorded in the previous 15 years combined. 05:11 The main culprit behind dengue is the Asian tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus. The insect is what's known as a vector, i.e. a living organism that can transmit infectious pathogens between humans or from animals to humans. With its distinctive black and white stripes that resemble those of a zebra more than a tiger, the mosquito is capable of transmitting dengue, zika and chikungunya. Europe only experienced a handful of diseases carried by the tiger mosquito per year right up until the late 90's. Most were one-off cases brought home by travelers from South East Asia – Aedes albopictus' s native home. But with increased travel and globalization, the insect's journeys westward increased. It hopped onto cargo carriers to Albania or hitched a ride to the warmer parts of France and moved to Europe, where it remains to this day. In 2006, France officially declared dengue a notifiable disease. In 2022, its presence was detected in most of the French mainland administrative departments. The insect quickly adapted itself to urban environments, where it needs just one still body of water – an undisturbed pond or a neglected watering can – to reproduce and proliferate. The numbers have jumped so dramatically that scientists now believe that the diseases carried by Aedes albopictus will become endemic in Europe. Some researchers even say that the number of dengue and chikungunya outbreaks could increase five-fold by 2060 compared to current rates. The tiger mosquito is a known carrier of several pathogens and viruses. Climatic conditions have contributed to a geographic range expansion of several other vectors like ticks and other species of mosquitos and flies, which carry their own diseases like West Nile Fever, Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. But unfortunately, it isn't just the bugs we need to be worried about. Climate change could also increase the occurrence of water-borne disease. In recent years, Europe has experienced the devastating impact of extended period of rain and floods, which wreak havoc on water treatment and distribution systems. Water can gather several pathogens from dumps, fields and pastures and flush them into water treatment and distribution systems. Kazmierczak also warns of pathogens carried in the sea: "As the arctic melts; salinity in seawater decreases, making it ideal for pathogens like vibrio. It's been seen more in the Baltic and North Seas. It is transferred from seafood or even exposure in an open wound if you're swimming in infectious water." Unearthing the zombie viruses Permafrost covers almost 15 percent of the northern hemisphere, a significant portion of which is concentrated in Siberia, Alaska and Greenland. As the name implies, permafrost is soil and rock that stays frozen for at least two consecutive years. It acts almost like a cold storage for history: mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and long extinct plants have been preserved, almost entirely intact. Some of what's stuck in frozen limbo isn't even dead – it's just dormant. Numerous 'zombie microbes' have been discovered in melting permafrost over the years, some after millennia. Researchers have raised fears that a new global medical emergency could be triggered – not by an illness new to science but by an ancient disease which modern human immunity is not equipped to deal with. The melting permafrost could also release old radioactive material and banned chemicals that had been dumped as waste. This was the case in 2016, when over 2000 reindeer were found dead in Siberia because of an anthrax outbreak. Melting permafrost thawed the carcass of a reindeer that had died decades ago and unleashed the dormant virus into the modern world. Dozens of people living nearby had to be hospitalized. This bizarre new threat may be another consequence of warming global temperatures, despite sounding like it's been pulled from the pages of a science fiction novel. But Kazmierczak says that the research is still in its nascent stages and permafrost exists in isolated regions with little habitation. Adapting to a new environment The changes in the geography of infectious disease, to a large extent, cannot be undone. Temperatures in Europe have already risen by over 2 degrees in the last decade alone, with no sign of it slowing down. But despite the warming climate, Kazmierczak is hopeful that Europe can adapt. 'National health infrastructures and awareness will be paramount in our adaptation. We already have examples from countries that have already dealt with these illnesses, and we can adapt them to Europe. 'We believe that a way to reduce our carbon footprint is also to bring nature into cities and homes – but hosting vectors, for example, is exactly the flipside that it can have. We need to make sure that we adapt with awareness.'
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Europe on high alert as surprise early heatwave creeps north
Withering conditions that have baked southern Europe for days crept northward where such extremes are much rarer, with Paris on "red alert" and high temperature warnings issued in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. Tens of thousands of people have died in Europe during past heatwaves, prompting authorities to issue warnings for old and young, the sick, and others vulnerable to what experts call a "silent killer". Scientists said it was unusual for such heat to hit Europe this early in the season, but that human-caused climate change from burning fossil fuels was making these once-rare events far more likely. Records have tumbled, with France and Portugal experiencing their highest-ever single-day temperatures in June, Spain its warmest June, and the Netherlands its hottest opening day of July. In England, the weather service said it was the hottest June since records began in 1884. The Mediterranean Sea recorded a new June high of 26.01 degrees Celsius on Sunday, just the latest abnormal marine heatwave in the basin, harming sea life and turbocharging storms. The summit of the Eiffel Tower was shut for a second straight day, and was due to remain closed on Wednesday. On Tuesday in Brussels, the city's Atomium monument, famed for its giant stainless steel balls, was exceptionally shut as temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit). 'Living like moles' Under scorching skies, Paris imposed its first "red alert" in five years, empowering officials to limit or ban sporting events, festivals and school outings for children. The heat is expected to peak on Tuesday, with Paris facing highs of 38C, but authorities have extended the alert into Wednesday. Some parks will remain open all night, pools have extended visiting hours, and cooling centres in churches and museums are offering respite from the lack of greenery and concrete surfaces that amplify the heat. "We're living a bit like moles," Nicole, 85, told AFP in the stifling air of her apartment in a tower block in Paris. Across France, the government said it expected nearly 1,350 schools to be partially or completely shut, with teachers complaining that overheated and unventilated classrooms were making students unwell. Authorities are fanning out to check on the elderly, chronically ill and the homeless. "When it's cold, I add blankets and hats. But when it's hot like this, what can I do? Nothing, just wait for it to pass and hope I don't faint," said Jo, a 55-year-old homeless man in Bordeaux, in southwestern France. As far north as the Netherlands, some regions were placed on the second-highest alert on Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to reach 38C. Schools in Rotterdam and across West Brabant province adopted "tropical schedules" to ensure students started and finished earlier to avoid the worst of the day's heat. In Germany, temperatures could peak at 40C on Wednesday. In Spain and Portugal, where highs of 46C were recorded in some locations over the weekend, a level of respite was expected, though temperatures could still exceed 40C in parts. A two-year-old boy died in northeastern Spain on Tuesday after being left in the back of a car parked in the sun, police said. 'Silent killer' The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said its teams of volunteers had mobilised across Europe to give out water and assist the most vulnerable. "Extreme heat doesn't have to be a disaster: knowledge, preparedness and early action make all the difference," said IFRC spokesman Tommaso Della Longa. "We're still seeing infrastructure challenges associated with heatwaves, pressure on national healthcare systems, and we still have excess deaths," she told AFP. A heatwave in 2022 killed an estimated 60,000 people across Europe, mostly elderly. The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that heat was a "silent killer" and the death toll from prolonged, extreme exposure was often under-reflected in official statistics. Spokeswoman Clare Nullis said every death from heat was unnecessary, and society would have to adapt to more heatwaves in future. "It's something we have to learn to live with," Nullis said. burs-np-bl/jhb © 2025 AFP
LeMonde
11 hours ago
- LeMonde
Heatwave claims several victims in southern Europe
France is not the only country affected by the heat dome that sent temperatures soaring. The Iberian Peninsula and Italy are also sweltering. In Spain, the heatwave is historic. On Saturday, June 28, the Andalusian city of El Granado, in the south of the country, recorded a temperature of 46°C, an all-time record for the month of June, according to the Spanish meteorological agency AEMET. The previous record, set in 1965 in Seville, was 45.2°C. The heatwave, which was initially expected to end on Tuesday or Wednesday, is now forecast to continue until Thursday, July 3. Temperatures above 36°C are expected across much of the country, exceeding 38°C in the northeast, center and south, particularly in the Guadalquivir and Guadiana valleys. Tropical nights have also set in, with minimum temperatures above 25°C along the Mediterranean coast, in Castile and in Andalusia. Twenty Spanish regions remain on orange or yellow alert, from the Basque Country to the Community of Madrid, through Extremadura and Catalonia. Two deaths occurred on Saturday, possibly due to heatstroke – one worker in Cordoba and a municipal employee in Barcelona – reigniting concerns over worker protection during heatwaves. Trade unions called for strict enforcement of preventive measures. In Spain, a decree in force since May 2023 requires employers to adapt schedules and working conditions in the event of extreme heat, to ensure the safety of exposed employees, especially those working outdoors.
