Thermometers have shot up in recent days and hours in various parts of Europe, Asia and America, claiming the lives of hundreds of people, especially during the pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, -with almost 900-, and with several cities Americans and the Old Continent with record temperatures for these times of the year.
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Rome, for example, is on red alert this Friday due to the heat wave that is hitting Italy, and a maximum temperature of 37 degrees is expected to be reached.according to the Ministry of Health, which also warns of the maximum alert level in seven other Italian cities: Ancona, Campobaso, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Rieti, in the north, and in the south, Palermo.
In addition, 50 degrees were detected on surfaces in the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Square, which about 25,000 people visit every day, while in the largest train station in the Italian capital, Termini, there were also surfaces above 50 degrees. .
Besides, The forest fires that are ravaging Turkey due to high temperatures have already claimed the lives of 11 people and 44 have been injured, ten in critical condition, in the provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin, in the southeast of the country..
These provinces reached 45 degrees this week and this Friday temperatures are expected to be around 41, figures that remain between 5 and 10 degrees higher than normal at this time, according to the Turkish General Directorate of Meteorology.
On the other hand, the Minister of Water of New Delhi, Atishi Marlena Singh, began this Friday an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the water crisis that the Indian capital is experiencing, with supply failures for weeks, and for which other neighboring states are blamed, especially Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
This is in addition to the intense heat wave that New Delhi experienced for weeks, which unleashed a water crisis in the capital and led the authorities to impose restrictions on its use; The city today experienced the first rains after the torrid summer, a preview of the monsoon rainfall that is expected to reach the capital in the coming days.
A challenge due to harsh weather conditions
In this hot international scenario, almost 900 people have died during the annual pilgrimage to Meccawhich ended last Wednesday after five days of ritual and which has been marked by high temperatures that have reached 51.8 degrees.
Egypt is the most affected country so far with at least 325 deaths among the faithful, the vast majority due to heat stroke, a medical source from Saudi Arabia told EFE.
After Egypt, the highest number of deaths would correspond to Indonesia, although these are provisional figures.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Islamabad, this year’s pilgrimage was challenging due to harsh weather conditions, while the Saudi National Meteorological Center reported high temperatures ranging from 45 to a peak of 51. 8 degrees last Monday.
The first alerts of the season
Thousands of kilometers away, in the United States the rise in temperatures led the authorities to issue this Thursday the first alerts of the season and identify places with air conditioning to avoid tragedies, since in several cities temperature records have been broken and it is expected peaking mainly in the northeastern region of the country over the weekend, when Residents of cities like Concord (New Hampshire) could suffer 37 degrees; that of Hartford (Connecticut), 36; or New York, 32.
The Ministry of Health (SSa) of Mexico updated this Thursday the number of people who died due to the effects of heat, which increased by 30 since last week, bringing the total number of people killed by high temperatures since the beginning of 2024 to 155. .
As reported this Thursday by the academic collaboration group World Weather Attribution (WWA, in English), At least 125 people have died in various regions of Mexico since the end of May due to the intense heat waves that this country is suffering.
In addition, the SSa has warned that high temperatures will continue in the country next week, since maximum temperatures above 45 °C are expected in Baja California and Sonora and maximum temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees in Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa, all states in northern Mexico.
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