Spain Sweats Out Sultry Nights as Heat Wave Bakes Southern Europe

A cyclist cools himself at a fountain in central Athens on July 12, 2023, as Greece hits high temperatures. (AFP)
A cyclist cools himself at a fountain in central Athens on July 12, 2023, as Greece hits high temperatures. (AFP)
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Spain Sweats Out Sultry Nights as Heat Wave Bakes Southern Europe

A cyclist cools himself at a fountain in central Athens on July 12, 2023, as Greece hits high temperatures. (AFP)
A cyclist cools himself at a fountain in central Athens on July 12, 2023, as Greece hits high temperatures. (AFP)

Spain sweltered under an unrelenting heat wave Wednesday as temperatures started to build toward what is forecast to be a torrid weekend across southern Europe.

Spain’s weather service said thermometers could potentially hit 45 C (113 F) in southeastern areas of the Iberian Peninsula, which are under alert for extreme heat. That mark was reached Monday in the village of Loja near Granada at the start of the heat wave that is causing restless nights across the country.

More than 100 weather stations registered temperatures of at least 35 C (95 F) as early as 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to meteorologist Rubén del Campo of Spain’s national weather agency.

“On Wednesday, we expect temperatures to fall overall with the arrival of cool winds from the North and East, with the exception of the southeast and southern Andalusia, where hot winds blowing from the interior will cause temperatures to soar,” Del Campo said.

While some relief is in store in the coming days for the Iberian Peninsula, other European countries will sweat through the weekend.

In Italy, 10 cities were put on high heat alert for older people and other vulnerable populations from Bolzano in the north extending southward to Bologna, Florence and Rome. Temperatures are expected to reach 40 C (104 F) in the Sardinian inland Wednesday.

But storms in Italy's populous northern Lombardy region caused flooding, felled trees and ripped roofs off buildings. More than 200 firefighters responded to emergencies in the regional capital of Milan, Varese, near the Malpensa airport, Lecco, near Lake Como, Sondrio, located in the Alps, and Bergamo.

Temperatures were also starting to tick up in Greece, where a heat wave was forecast to reach up to 44 C (111 F) in some parts of the country in the coming days. Authorities banned access to nature reserves and forests to reduce the risk of wildfires, while municipalities were opening air-conditioned areas in public buildings for people to shelter from the heat.

Greece's agriculture ministry issued restrictions on the transportation and working hours of animals such as horses and donkeys offering rides in tourist areas during the heat wave. Working animals won't be allowed to work between noon and 5 p.m. on days where temperatures are between 35-39 C (95-102 F) in the shade, while they won't be allowed to work at any time of the day when temperatures exceed that range.

Scientists report that heat-related deaths soared in 2022 in Europe, when Spain had a record-hot year. The Mediterranean region is expected to see temperatures rise faster than many other areas of the globe because of climate change.



Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
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Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP

Donald Trump's tariffs have become a black and white issue on social media, where penguin memes have gone viral after he targeted an island inhabited by the flightless birds, but no people.

One widely shared image on Thursday showed a penguin in place of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office during his recent row with the US president and Vice President JD Vance.

Another meme showed US First Lady Melania Trump gazing up at an emperor penguin -- in place of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- while Trump looks askance.

Trump's announcement of worldwide tariffs on Wednesday certainly received an icy reception in many countries.

But there has also been bafflement about why some of the most remote parts of the world have been targeted.

A case in point: why would Trump slap 10 percent tariffs on all exports from the Heard and McDonald Islands, a barren sub-Antarctic Australian territory without a human population, but four different species of penguin?

"The penguins have been ripping us off for years," Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump's former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

"Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin," posted US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, referring to the fact that Russia was not on the US tariff list.

The White House said sanctions on Russia over President Vladimir Putin's war on meant that there was no "meaningful" trade on which to impose tariffs.

Trump also caused puzzlement with his 29 percent tariff on Norfolk Island, a tiny Australian territory in the Pacific with a population of a little over 2,000 humans.

"I'm not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Britain's remote Falkland Islands -- home to one million penguins, and most famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to repel Argentinian invaders -- was hit by 41 percent exports even though the UK only faces 10 percent.

Trump's tariffs have however been no laughing matter for global markets, with US stocks suffering their worst day since the Covid pandemic in 2020.