BUDAPEST, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – An airport in eastern Hungary is temporarily closed due to runway damage caused by the scorching temperatures of a heatwave hitting the central European country, its operator said on Friday. Despite a typically temperate climate, Hungary has been experiencing daily highs exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days, and temperatures could hit a record high over the weekend. Due to the “continuous thermal stress”, the […]
Tag: heatwave
Italy swelters in first summer heatwave
ROME (AFP) – Tourists and locals sweltered under Italy’s first summer heatwave on Friday, with the installation in Rome of potted trees for shade providing little relief. Temperatures were forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the country, according to the official air force weather service, while the health ministry issued red alerts for Rome and Palermo among other cities. Weather website Il Meteo blamed an African anticyclone it dubbed […]
Power demand peaks in northern India heatwave
By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – Searing heatwave temperatures in northern India pushed power demand to a record high, the government said Tuesday, with residents of the capital New Delhi also struggling with water shortages. Much of northern India has been gripped by a brutal month-long heatwave, with temperatures regularly soaring above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Northern India has “been experiencing high demand conditions due to a prevailing heat […]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
BEIJING, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – At least four people were killed when record rains hit parts of southern China, state media reported Tuesday, while more than a dozen were missing even as the north baked under some of its highest temperatures this year. Downpours “exceeding historical daily maximums” in some areas of Fujian province caused the four deaths, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the flood control headquarters of Shanghang County. More than 66,000 […]
Extreme early-summer heatwave peaks in western US
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2024 (AFP) – An extreme early-summer heatwave was expected to peak Thursday across much of the western United States, where millions were scrambling to cope with the sudden sharp rise in temperatures. Las Vegas was baking in 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) heat, while in the Death Valley desert the mercury was expected to shoot past 120F, due to an oppressive high-pressure weather system smothering the region. “Widespread high and […]
Danger warnings as heatwave hits western US
LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – A dangerous heatwave was building over parts of the western United States Tuesday, with forecasters warning of rocketing temperatures in an early taste of a possibly brutal summer for the region. The mercury was expected to top out at well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), with some areas experiencing highs as much as 30 degrees above normal for this time of year. Southwestern desert areas and […]
Saudi warns of above-average heat during the hajj
RIYADH, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia said Tuesday pilgrims can expect average high temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) during the hajj, which last year saw thousands of cases of heat stress. “The expected climate for hajj this year will witness an increase in average temperatures of one and a half to two degrees above normal in Mecca and Medina,” national meteorology centre chief Ayman Ghulam told a press conference. The […]
India court urges heatwave emergency declaration as deaths rise
NEW DELHI, May 31, 2024 (AFP) – An Indian court has urged the government to declare a national emergency over the country’s ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). It has not published nationwide figures for deaths attributed to the current heatwave but the eastern state of Bihar […]
Mexico City records highest-ever temperature of 34.7 C
MEXICO CITY, May 26, 2024 (AFP) – Mexico City recorded its highest-ever temperature on Saturday when thermometers hit 34.7 degrees Celsius (94.46 degrees Fahrenheit) as a deadly heatwave scorches the country. The “highest temperature since records have been kept” was recorded Saturday afternoon at the Tacubaya observatory, the National Meteorological Service said. The previous record of 34.4 degrees Celsius was observed the day before at the same station in the capital, the weather service added. […]
Heatwave cancels lessons for half Pakistan’s schoolchildren
LAHORE, Pakistan, May 23, 2024 (AFP) – Half of Pakistan’s pupils will be shut out of schools for a week as the nation takes crisis measures to lessen the effect of a series of heatwaves, officials said Thursday. Some 26 million students will be out of lessons from Saturday in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, which has ordered schools to close for the summer break one week early because of the soaring temperatures. The early […]
Cambodia’s famed Kampot pepper withers in scorching heatwave
By Suy SE KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 13, 2024 (AFP) – Farmer Chhim Laem shakes his head as he walks between long rows of dead bushes, their brown leaves scorched by heat and drought that have devastated Cambodia’s famed Kampot pepper crop. Known for its intense floral flavour, Kampot pepper is prized by top chefs around the world and sells for up to $200 per kilo. Nurtured for generations in two provinces in southwest Cambodia, the […]
Mass fish die-off in Vietnam as heatwave roasts Southeast Asia
DONG NAI, Vietnam, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in a reservoir in southern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province, with locals and media reports suggesting a brutal heatwave and the lake’s management are to blame. Like much of Southeast Asia — where schools have recently been forced to close early and electricity usage has surged — southern and central Vietnam have been scorched by devastating heat. “All the fish in […]
