The island will get a respite from a punishing heatwave from Friday, as July goes down as the hottest month on record.
It is not just the hottest July ever recorded but the hottest month since the weather station in Athalassa Nicosia was established in 1983.
On Wednesday, the Met Office issued another yellow warning for high temperatures, reaching a maximum 42°C.
Cyprus has been sweltering under temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius since 12 July, when the island was hit by a heatwave dubbed Cleon, raising temperatures to a maximum 44°C on 15 July.
In comments to the Financial Mirror, weather observer Eric Kitas argued that the prolonged heatwave has meant that July has gone down as the hottest month recorded while breaking the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures over 40C.
The island is expected to witness 17 consecutive days with temperatures above 40°C, breaking the previous record of 12, recorded in 2020.
As Kitas noted, heatwave Cleon pushed temperatures well past 40°C for five days before it was replaced by an anticyclone moving into the Mediterranean from North Africa.
“This phenomenon will be subsiding from Friday, with temperatures dropping below 40°C, albeit remaining close to 40°C,” said Kitas.
Top temperatures during the weekend are expected to hover around 39, with the early hours of the day being much cooler.
The weather observer said that with the drop in temperature, an increase in humidity is expected, pushing discomfort levels back up.
Temperatures on Wednesday are expected to reach a scorching 42 degrees inland and around 36-38°C on the coast.
Higher mountainous regions will have slightly cooler temperatures of around 33°C.
Night temperatures will drop to around 26C inland, and the coast mountainous regions will cool down to around 22°C.
The fire risk remains on the highest alert level, red.
Europe
Hundreds of firefighters have scrambled to put out flames in several European nations.
Fires are burning in Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal, as well as Rhodes, where the evacuation of tourists continues.
Greece, Algeria, Italy, Croatia, and Turkey have been subject to blazes over multiple days leading to thousands of people being evacuated.
The deadliest fires have occurred in Algeria, where at least 34 people have died – including 10 soldiers while fighting them.
In Greece, two pilots died in a plane crash while dropping water on wildfires.
In Italy, two elderly people were found dead in a home burnt by a wildfire that temporarily shut down Palermo’s international airport.
