The Meteorological Authority issued a second-level warning after temperatures reached 43 degrees Celsius in Nicosia, 38 degrees Celsius on the coast, and 34 degrees Celsius in the mountains.
The Ministry of Labor issued an order suspending all outside work between 12:00 and 16:00. The ban also applies to transporting food items on two-wheelers and to construction works.
The Ministry of Health has advised children, the elderly and the sick to avoid the sun, the risk of forest fires is high, and the fire department has been placed on high alert due to the prevailing drought in forest areas.
There is a significant lack of rainfall in the Mediterranean island nation, and the Meteorological Department told local press this week that 2024 was the driest year on record. Temperatures on Wednesday were about 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal values for June.
The Cyprus Meteorological Authority described the extreme heat as an “unusual phenomenon” related to the weather conditions prevailing in the eastern Mediterranean basin.
As a result of climate change, extreme heat has increased by an average of 26 days around the world in the past 12 months, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) climate report, published on May 28. In recent years, summers in Cyprus have been hotter, with prolonged heat waves. Last July was the hottest month on record, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius for 17 consecutive days.
The highest temperature – 46.2 degrees Celsius – was measured in September 2020 in Cyprus.
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