The firefighting planes in Greece and Switzerland are working overtime.
Some Tunisians are sending their families out of the cities to the country’s northernmost beaches.
In China, as officials warn of power blackouts amid huge demand for air conditioning, some of the overheated are urging their fellow citizens to sleep on bamboo mats and eat watermelon cooled in wells.
From Death Valley to Xinjiang, China, from Phoenix to Rome − record-breaking temperatures from heat waves are sweeping the world. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Death Valley on July 10, 1913: 56.7 degrees Celsius (134.1 Fahrenheit).
The temperature in that California national park fell just short of that last week. Europe’s record heat of 48.8C (119.8 F) measured in Sicily on Aug. 11 2021, could soon be broken, according to the WMO.
The intense heat has coincided with the most popular time of the year for American tourists to travel to Europe. That visit to the Colosseum or Acropolis? Plan it for a cooler part of the day, health officials say. Stay hydrated. Wear sunblock and a hat. Italy’s weather service has nicknamed the nation’s latest heat wave “Charon,” after the Greek mythology figure who ferried the dead across the waters of Hades to the underworld.
As United Nations climate scientists warn heat waves and other extreme weather could increasingly last longer, become more intense and grow more frequent as a result of human activity and climate change, here’s how some people around the world, in their own words, from Europe to North Africa, from the Middle East to Asia, are managing in the heat.
Their words have been lightly edited for clarity.
Rome
Average July maximum temperature: 31C (87.8F) Highest recorded temperature this July: 40C (104F)
“I’m from Florida, but I feel like I’m really reaching my limit. I don’t know anyone here, even very well-heeled Italians, who have centralized air conditioning. I have an A/C unit in my living room, but it doesn’t cool the whole house down. I’ve spent some nights on the couch to be closer to it. But because of high energy prices − because of the war in Ukraine I get these crazy power bills − I’m really conscious of keeping it running all the time. So I turn it off and on and off, and then wake up sweating a couple of hours later.
Growing up in Florida the cliche was in the summer you’d step outside and hit a wall of heat. I’ve almost never felt that in Europe before now. Rome is only about 20 miles from the coast. There’s normally a light breeze in the summer or every couple of days it would rain and bring the heat down. Not this time. Because of the heat I’m not eating as much. I just don’t have the appetite. What am I going to do? Sit down with a plate of carbonara and parmesan cheese, black pepper and olive oil?
My dog is tired of the heat as well. She normally runs ahead on walks and investigates the trash and stuff like that. Now she’s walking several feet behind me with her head down.”
− Eric J. Lyman, Rome resident of more than 20 years. “Mocha,” his overheated pooch, has her own Instagram page.
Madrid
Average July maximum temperature: 32C (89.6F)Highest recored temperature this July: 39C (102.2F)
“A lot of people in the Madrid area have a second residence in the mountains because at night the temperature there drops a lot. In the city center, it’s hell. Between all the traffic, cars, buildings and air conditioners, a lot of extra heat is released into the city. The asphalt retains a lot of this heat. The difference in temperature from the center of Madrid to the mountains, where I live, can be as much as 6 to 8 degrees Celsius (43F to 46F). To stay cool, I eat salads. I’m lucky to have a swimming pool. When I finish work I go straight there for about two hours.”
− Laura Moreno, 40, customer quality manager
Tunis, Tunisia
Average July maximum temperature: 32C (89.6F)Highest recored temperature this July: 47C (116.6F)
“Tunisia has never experienced heat like this. The authorities are telling us to be careful, to try to stay at home and look after the elderly and sick especially. To ration our use of air conditioning because of the demand for electricity. We’re seeing wildfires.
For several days this month temperatures exceeded the normal average for this time of year by more than 10 degrees Celsius (50F). In some southern areas like Djerba (an island off the Tunisian coast) people use traditional ways to protect themselves from the burning sun. For example, they wear a traditional hat that is made of straw and other natural materials. As for me, well, I am a journalist and I work in the sun, wind or cold. My family are waiting for me to join them in Bizerte, a coastal region in the north.”
− Naima Abdallah Jouini, 50, journalist
Shantou, southeastern China.
Average July maximum temperature: 31C (87.8F)Highest recored temperature this July: 37C (98.6F)
“Bamboo mats are crucial for the summer heat. We put them on the bed. On the sofa. Some people even put them on seats in the car. In the countryside, you’ll see people putting their beds outside, with the bamboo mats on top. It can be quite cozy at night.
The city kids of my generation have all had the experience of sleeping on the floor, no matter the floor is made of ceramic tile or bricks, to keep cool. Some people put water on the floor to make it even cooler. Then they lay a thin mat on top of it, very comfortable. Country people also love to throw watermelons down wells, and pick them up after few hours. The watermelons cool down rapidly. But these scenes are becoming more rare, as most of the people have air conditioners now. The best thing for the heat? We sometimes have typhoons. The heavy rains these storms bring ease the heat effectively.”
–Zheng Zerong, 24, technology company employee
Phoenix
Average July maximum temperature: 39C (102.2F)Highest recored temperature this July: 48C (118.4F)
“A lot of times I get cold water and just pour it over the top of my head. I drink a lot of water. I get packets to replenish my electrolytes. If I can’t stand the heat anymore, I go back in CASS (Central Arizona Shelter Services). I’ve seen some people with gallon jugs of water and they pour it all over. I’ve seen some people with little baby swimming pools and they roll around in them. People get creative around here. Sometimes, on the weekend, there’s this guy that comes around, and he’ll pass out 7 pounds of ice. The women grab them. And we share it. We’ll fill up our cooler, and we’re good to go. I’ve got a towel, too. And when it’s really hot, I’ll wet it down, I’ll wrap it around my neck. Sometimes I just place it over my head.”
−Sheryl Menzer, 61, staying at a homeless shelter in Phoenix
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip
Average July maximum temperature: 32C (89.6F)Highest recored temperature this July: 35C (95F)
“The frequent power cuts because of the heat wave in Gaza (a coastal enclave on the Mediterranean Sea, home to about 2.5 million Palestinians) have had a devastating impact on families like mine. I live with my wife and two young children, a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. During power outages, the children feel bored and lack any means of entertainment. They also suffer from the heat during the day, and my 3-year-old son recently suffered from heatstroke due to the high temperatures. At night, sometimes the children cannot sleep, and they sleep on the floor of the house (tiles) to stay cool. We try manually to cool the air around them so they can sleep. The constant feeling of anger and psychological distress due to the ongoing heat is taking its toll.”
− Akram Elloh, 40, writer and editor
Basel, Switzerland
Average July maximum temperature: 26C (78.8F)Highest recored temperature this July: 36C (96.8F)
“The Rhine (a major European river that starts in Switzerland) is very, very low. There is not much space between the bottom of the boats and the riverbed. For us, 27 or 28 degrees Celsius (80.6F to 82.4F) would be a quite hot summer. The temperatures we’ve seen are unheard of. We certainly don’t have air conditioners in our houses. The only thing you can do is let the curtains down, darken your house, and in the morning or at night leave everything open so the house cools down. I’ve had to start taking a quick shower in the evening to get the sweat of the day off − that’s not something I’d usually do. One of the offices I work in is a villa from the 1900s. But even the modern buildings here don’t have air conditioning what with the energy savings everyone’s trying to do.
August 1 − Switzerland’s independence day − is approaching. There’s normally fireworks and barbecues. We’ve been told to try to avoid that this year. They don’t want more wildfires starting. I just came back from a weekend in St. Moritz (an alpine ski resort). I’ve been there many times. The mountain there used to have a whole lot of little glaciers on it and was snow-covered. There was almost nothing left of that.”
− Petra Kneisel, 56, financial controller for a pharmaceutical company
Marrakesh, Morocco
Average July maximum temperature: 36C (96.8F)Highest recorded temperature this July: 46C (114.8F)
“There are some days you can’t even go out, it’s just so hot. Rabat (Morocco’s capital) is cooler than Marrakesh (a walled medieval city in a western part of the country) and other cities. I went to Marrakesh last weekend and it was so hot we just stayed indoors until night, then we went out. We try to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water, wear loose-fitting clothes and stay in the shade as much as possible.”
− Samya Zoubir, 24, marketing student who lives in Rabat
Athens, Greece
Average July maximum temperature: 32C (89.6F)Highest recored temperature this July: 40C (104F)
“We’re avoiding going out, and to be honest it feels a bit like lockdown times. Everyone is holed up trying to stay cool because the heat feels so draining this year. I have three kids: 12, 9 and 2. They are bored stupid because it’s too hot to go anywhere except indoor AC’d places. I keep my to-ing and fro-ing to a minimum with the baby. I don’t want him to get sick with the heat. Luckily in Greece the buildings are built to cope with the heat. We have high ceilings and marble floors. Marble is cheap in Greece and it’s a cool material.
There’s some big wildfires going on about 40 minutes from where I live. We hear the planes flying over the house all day. We’ve also seen the fires on the mountain behind where we live. The weather in Greece is changing. Spring and autumn have kind of vanished. There’s no longer four distinct seasons. Just a really long summer and a winter where you don’t know what’s going to happen. It can be wet or cold. You just don’t know. My husband and I started discussing this a while ago. What should we do if Athens is no longer a tolerable city to live in?”
− Omaira Gill, 41, freelance marketing professional for financial firms
Sources for temperatures: Britain’s Meteorological Office, Weather.com
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