Heat storms turn Southern Europe into ‘giant pizza oven’
This story is part of Record High, a Grist series examining extreme heat and its impact on how — and where — we live.
As a second “heat storm” bears down on Southern Europe, millions of people across the continent are bracing another week of record-setting temperatures.
“The bubble of hot air that has inflated over Southern Europe has turned Italy and surrounding countries into a giant pizza oven,” said Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist at the University of Reading in England. “We haven’t even seen the highest temperatures yet.”
Wide swaths of Europe are expected to see the mercury climb above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with the Italian weather news service Meteo.it forecasting temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit). The swelter comes as places across the globe are also being hit by extreme heat, flooding, and …