Cyprus is bracing itself for more summer scorchers, joining a trend of extremely high temperatures across Europe poised to set new heatwave records.
On Monday, the Met Office issued a second yellow weather warning for high night-time temperatures and unusually hot weather for the mountains.
It is the second consecutive yellow warning for maximum night-time temperatures following Sunday’s alert, the first to be issued this summer.
Maximum temperatures on Monday will rise to 39 degrees Celsius inland (the seasonal average), while the mountains will swelter under 32°C.
Coastal areas will see temperatures between 32°C and 34°C.
Night-time temperatures will not drop below 26°C inland, 24°C on the coast, and 21°C on the highest mountains.
In comments to the Financial Mirror, weather observer Eric Kitas from KitasWeather said that Cyprus will be given a short respite from extreme heat in the coming days.
Still, high temperatures are expected to return at the weekend.
“Forecast models show the island is heading for temperatures well over 40°C towards the end of the week,” said Kitas.
Meanwhile, Europe is melting under record high temperatures, with firefighters battling to contain wildfires sweeping across southwest Europe as a heatwave showed no sign of abating, with Britain poised to set new temperature records.
The UK is set to see temperatures on Monday shoot past 40°C, breaking the record of 38.7°C recorded back in 2019 in Cambridge.
UK authorities have called on people to avoid unnecessary movement, advising train passengers to avoid travel, as long delays and cancellations are expected due to the heat.
In France, red warnings were issued for many regions. In western France, Monday is expected to be particularly hot, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.
In Portugal, the health ministry announced that an estimated 659 people, mainly the elderly, lost their lives last week due to extremely high temperatures.
Spain has reported at least 360 deaths since 10 July due to heat. Temperatures reached 42°C in some areas of the country on Sunday.
In Italy, forecasters predict that the temperature will exceed 40°C, in many areas, in the coming days.
