The Colosseum and St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, two of the most emblematic places in Rome and through which tens of thousands of tourists pass every day, have exceeded 50 degrees on their surfaces in real time, when the capital is this Friday on red alert due to the heat wave that is hitting the country.
Thanks to the use of a infrared thermal camera which allowed them to record temperatures in real time, members of the NGO Greenpeace Italia took to the streets of Rome and detected more than 50 degrees on the surfaces of the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Squarewhich about 25,000 people visit every day.
Another point where 50 degrees were exceeded on the first day of summer this Thursday was the largest train station in the Italian capital, Termini.through which more than 450,000 travelers pass daily, explained the NGO.
“Thousands of tourists, travelers and residents are subjected to extreme temperatures, dangerous conditions for their health,” which “could have negative effects not only on at-risk health groups such as children and the elderly, but also on healthy and active people,” he indicated. it’s a statement.
The city is on red alert due to a heat wave this Friday, when a maximum temperature of 37 degrees is expected to be reached.according to the Italian Ministry of Health, which also warns of the maximum high alert level in seven other Italian cities: Ancona, Campobaso, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Rieti, in the north, and in the south, Palermo.
According to the NGO, it is an effect of climate changesince “the current temperature in several Italian cities would have been very unlikely without the warming caused by human activities, such as the exploitation of fossil fuels.”
Rome recorded a temperature increase of 7.3°C compared to the values that would have been measured in a world without a climate crisis and other cities such as Perugia, Palermo and Trento experienced increases of 5.7ºC, 7.3ºC and 4.7ºC respectively, according to Greenpeace.
“The temperature of the planet continues to increase and the scientific community warns that heat waves are increasingly likely and intense due to the climate crisis, aggravated by the irresponsibility of large oil companies,” added the NGO.