A new week of sweltering heat begins in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday, with temperatures above 40C expected in Europe, as is the case in Italy, or even heat warnings in Spain, devastating fires that continue to wreak havoc in Canada and California, reports AFP.

At the beginning of the week, Sardinia is expected to reach 48°C. In Spain, which has already ended a hot week, the weather agency on Sunday issued a code orange for Monday, announcing temperatures of 38°C to 42°C across large areas of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, as well as a code red. (extreme danger) on Monday in areas of Andalusia and on Tuesday in Aragon, Catalonia and Mallorca (42°C to 44°C).

The effects of rising temperatures have already been felt in the Canary Islands, on the island of La Palma, where this weekend a fire destroyed 5,000 hectares of land and caused the evacuation of 4,000 people.

In Europe, where global warming is progressing twice as fast as the world average, according to experts, several countries are particularly affected.

In Italy, 16 cities are under code red across the country, where the thermometer will hover around 36/37°C, but temperatures could exceed 40°C.

Braving the heat, 15,000 pilgrims and tourists, according to the Vatican gendarmerie, were in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to hear the traditional Angelus prayer addressed to Pope Francis.

On Monday, the temperature in Romania will be around 39 degrees Celsius.

In Greece, where temperatures will drop slightly, the Acropolis in Athens was closed to the public on Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. The local authorities called on the population to be careful and warned about the increased danger of fires.

In the United States, from Florida (southeast) to California (west) through Texas (south), much of the south was once again under a heat wave Sunday that the weather service described as “oppressive.” temperature records.

In the famous Death Valley in California, one of the hottest places on the planet, the thermometer showed 51°C on Saturday night, and 54°C is expected in the following hours.

In addition to rising temperatures, Southern California has been hit by several very large fires that are still burning and have already destroyed more than 3,000 hectares and prompted evacuations.

In Florida, the city of Miami issued its first-ever “extreme heat” warning. Other regions of the United States are at risk of worsening weather conditions.

“Severe to severe storms, heavy rainfall and flooding are possible in many places, especially unfortunately in New England, which has already been affected by the rains,” the National Weather Service said.

More than ten million hectares have already burned in Canada this year, more than has ever been recorded in the country, according to data provided by Canada, which remains preliminary: 906 fires were still active on Saturday, 570 of which were considered uncontained. Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).

In Asia, Japan on Sunday issued a heat warning for tens of millions of residents in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record temperatures hit much of the country.

The country is also grappling with torrential rains that have killed at least eight people, including a man found dead in a submerged car in the north of the archipelago on Saturday.

In South Korea, rescuers tried to reach people trapped in a flooded tunnel after heavy rains in recent days left at least 37 people dead and nine others missing.

China’s meteorological service issued several alarming warnings, predicting that temperatures could reach 45°C in the semi-desert Xinjiang region and 39°C in the southern Guangxi region.

Heat is one of the meteorological phenomena with the highest degree of mortality, the World Meteorological Organization recently recalled. According to a recent study, high temperatures caused more than 60,000 deaths in Europe alone last summer.

(Photo source: C Whangchom, Dreamstime.com)