NICOSIA, June 5, 2024 (AFP) – Outdoor work and food delivery services were suspended in Cyprus on Wednesday as the first heatwave of the year brought scorching temperatures to the Mediterranean island.
The meteorological department issued an orange warning as the mercury hit 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) in Nicosia, 38 degrees on the coast and 34 in the mountains.
Due to the extreme heat alert, the labour department issued a decree stating that all outdoor work must cease from midday to 4:00 pm.
It said the ban applied to all product delivery using two-wheeled vehicles and construction work.
The health ministry advised children, the elderly and vulnerable groups to stay out of the sun.
The risk of forest fires also remains high, with fire services on “red alert” due to the tinder-dry conditions in wooded areas.
Cyprus is already experiencing a significant lack of rainfall, with the meteorological department telling local media this week that 2024 has so far been the 10th driest on record, going back 123 years.
Wednesday’s temperatures were around 10 degrees above normal for June and climbed from Monday’s yellow alert when the thermometer peaked at 40 degrees.
The Cyprus Meteorological Service called it an “unusual phenomenon” linked to weather patterns in the eastern Mediterranean.
“For 12 consecutive months, the average temperature for the entire planet was the highest ever recorded,” its meteorological officer, Filippos Tymvios, was quoted as saying by news website Philenews.
“We could link the observed weather phenomena to permanent climate change with extreme global phenomena, and many scientists consider the change irreversible,” he added.
In recent years, summers in Cyprus have become hotter, with prolonged heatwaves.
Last July was the hottest month ever recorded, with a record 17 consecutive days with temperatures above 40 degrees.
The holiday island is expected to get a respite from the punishing heatwave from Saturday when temperatures are forecast to drop.
The highest recorded temperature in Cyprus was 46.2 degrees in September 2020.
