New temperature record as ‘Lucifer’ heatwave sweeps Italy
- A blistering 48.8 degrees Celsius was recorded by authorities in Sicily as an anticyclone swept into the region
- The heat has raised fears for the fires that have blighted Calabria all summer, with firefighters recording 300 interventions in 12 hours
Regional authorities in Sicily recorded temperatures of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) Wednesday as an anticyclone dubbed “Lucifer” swept in, which if confirmed would be a new Italian and European record.
The blistering temperature was recorded near Syracuse, beating Italy’s all-time record of 48.5 degrees, set in Sicily in 1999, and the 1977 record of 48 degrees at Eleusis in Greece.
A spokesman for Italy’s national meteorological service said the result still had to be validated, while the World Meteorological Organisation, which lists the Greece record as Europe’s highest, did not respond to requests for comment.
Elsewhere in southern Italy, the anticyclone was forecast to send the mercury rising to 39-42 degrees before sweeping northwards, with weekend temperatures of up to 40 degrees in the central regions of Tuscany and Lazio, which includes Rome.
As the capital warmed up on Wednesday, tourists sought out shade and water.