Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/858250
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 AUGUST 2017 News MATTHEW AGIUS A record high in Malta's electric- ity consumption was registered on Friday, as the country fought the oppressing heat that has prevailed throughout the week, MaltaToday has learned. As temperatures rose above 38 degrees Celsius, electricity con- sumption peaked at 460MW, 12MW higher than the previous record of 448MW registered just a few weeks ago. 50MW alone were provided to the grid through pho- tovoltaic (PV) panel solar farms. No electrical outages or disrup- tions were recorded. The spike in demand was attrib- uted to increased use of air con- ditioners, fans and other cooling devices in homes and offices. The Meteorological Office said on Friday that the perceived tem- perature had reached the 42 de- gree Celsius mark with the heat- wave being expected to last into early next week. Temperatures are expected to decline to 35 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Europe hit by hellish temperatures Malta isn't feeling the heat alone. In southern and eastern Europe, authorities are advising people to stay in the shade and drink plenty of water as soaring temperatures continue to cause havoc, trigger- ing weather warning alerts, spark- ing forest fires and damaging crops. The heatwave, dubbed "Lucifer," has affected countries as far north as Poland, but is being felt the most in Italy and the Balkans. Eu- ropean weather hub Meteoalarm has issued its top "red" warning for 10 countries. The sweltering temperatures have already caused a handful of deaths with many more people requiring hospitalisation for sun- stroke or other heat-related ail- ments. Albania was forced to ask the EU for emergency assistance to com- bat some 75 forest fires caused by the extreme weather. Firefighters were also reportedly being kept busy in Italy, Spain Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Croatia, where authorities are advising people to stay indoors and keep themselves hydrated. In Greece, the seaside town of Kalyvia, south of Athens, had to be evacuated as wildfires threat- ened homes in high winds. Some Italian vineyards are re- portedly gathering their grape harvest weeks in advance of the usual date because of the heat. Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement, wrote in La Stampa newspaper that this was the first time in living memory that the grape harvest had ever started before August 15. The heatwave has caused a 15 per cent increase in hospital emer- gency admissions in Italy with 26 major towns and cities on the health ministry's maximum heat alert. 26 Italian cities, including Ven- ice and Rome have been issued weather risk warnings by the Ital- ian authorities. In Florence the 'perceived temperature', which is determined by temperature, hu- midity and wind, has been report- ed at more than 50C. In Abruzzo a 79-year-old woman was found dead in a field next to her home af- ter flames engulfed two hectares of the surrounding farmland. A major coastal motorway north of Rome was closed for several hours due to a major fire near Grosseto in Tuscany. On Croatia's Adriatic coast, tem- peratures already stood at around 32 degrees early on Friday morn- ing and were expected climb to 42 degrees during the day, the weath- er service said. "In two hours of my shift today I saw four people faint- ing on the street and complaining of heat exhaustion," a traf- fic warden told Reuters in the Ser- bian capital, Bel- grade. Trump withdraws US from climate pact But as much of Europe battled for- est fires and sweltering temperatures, on Saturday, the US state department is- sued its first written statement confirming that it would with- draw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The Trump administration did not exclude re-engaging in talks if the terms were made more advan- tageous to the United States. In a letter to the United Na- tions, the US state department said Washington would continue to participate in climate meetings during the withdrawal process, which is ex- pected to take a minimum of three years. In a statement, the department said "the United States supports a balanced approach to climate policy that lowers emissions while promoting economic growth and ensuring energy security". Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to withdraw from the Paris accord, on the grounds that the deal would have come at too great a cost to America in both jobs and revenue, was met with near-universal condemna- tion. Scientists list climate change as one of the largest threats to hu- man health this century. Two thirds of Europe's population is expected to be affected by heat waves, coastal flooding and oth- er weather-related dis- asters by the end of the century, with related deaths being forecast to increase 50-fold from an estimated 3,000 per year to 152,000. Malta registers record high 460MW of electricity consumption It's hot as hell as 'Lucifer' heatwave hits Europe "In two hours of my shift today I saw four people faint- ing on the street and complaining of heat exhaustion," a traf- fic warden told Reuters in the Ser- bian capital, Bel- Trump withdraws US from climate But as much of Europe battled for- est fires and sweltering temperatures, on Saturday, the US state department is- sued its first written statement confirming that it would with- draw from the 2015 Paris climate The Trump administration did not exclude re-engaging in talks if the terms were made more advan- tageous to the United States. In a letter to the United Na- tions, the US state department said Washington would continue to participate in climate meetings during the withdrawal process, which is ex- pected to take a minimum of three years. In a statement, the department said "the United States supports a balanced approach to climate policy that lowers emissions while promoting economic growth and ensuring energy security". Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to withdraw from the Paris accord, on the grounds that the deal would have come at too great a cost to America in both jobs and revenue, was met with near-universal condemna- tion. Scientists list climate change as one of the largest threats to hu- man health this century. Two thirds of Europe's population is expected to be affected by heat waves, coastal flooding and oth- er weather-related dis- asters by the end of the century, with related deaths being forecast to increase 50-fold from an estimated 3,000 per year to 152,000.