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Heavy Rains Hitting Germany While Heat Sears Italian Islands

(Bloomberg) -- Heavy rain has triggered landslides in parts of Germany, while the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia are on red alert for extreme heat.

Downpours near the north German town of Kassel led to landslides, according to national forecaster DWD. Red warnings for very heavy rain are in place for a swathe of the country that includes Dresden and Leipzig.

In the Mediterranean, there are heat alerts from the French Riviera to the islands of Greece. Temperatures in the interior of Sardinia will climb as high as 43C (109F) on Friday. While Paris will get some relief from this week’s heat wave, there are flood alerts for the region east of the French capital. London will also cool over the weekend, after reaching 29C today.

Climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of summer heat waves, triggering more extreme weather events from floods to wildfires. The highest average temperature on Earth was recorded last month, while global warming is making Europe 2.5C to 3.3C hotter, a group of international scientists said earlier this week.

There’s a heightened risk of wildfires from Marseille, along the French coast to the Spanish border, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Large parts of southern Spain are also threatened.

The heat in Greece will intensify over the next two days, with peaks of 42C on the mainland on Saturday, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. 

Greece had 31 wildfires in the 24 hours to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, with a strong Meltemi wind compounding the risks to Aegean islands. Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras — the country’s three biggest cities — are all on high alert.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.