In Italy, where temperatures later in the week could push close to the European record of 48.8C set in the Sicilian town of Floridia in August 2021, Italians were warned to brace for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time".
As heatwaves engulfed large parts of the globe, temperatures in California's Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, approached a world record on Sunday after reaching 53.3C.
China issued several temperature alerts on Sunday, warning of 39C in southern Guangxi region and 40-45C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang, where a temperature of 52.2C was recorded in the Sanbao township. In Japan, 60 people were treated for heatstroke as temperatures in the country reached highs of 39.1C.
In a stark warning to world leaders earlier yesterday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, wrote on Twitter: "In many parts of the world, today is predicted to be the hottest day on record. And these records have already been broken a few times this year. Heatwaves put our health and lives at risk. The #ClimateCrisis is not a warning. It's happening. I urge world leaders to ACT now."
This story is from the July 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the July 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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