Climate threat Europe's heat waves / The monsoon rains in South Asia

Woman looks out over Rome. Gregorio Borgia / AP 

 

Climate threat Europe's heat waves  

The extreme heat persists – 16 red warnings in Italy  

 

Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued in 16 Italian cities for the next few days, the BBC reports. The warnings also involve risks for people who are otherwise well and apply to tourist destinations such as Rome, Florence and Bologna.  

 

Temperatures of over 40 degrees are expected in the country in the coming days - on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia it could be as hot as 48 degrees, which would mean potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe. 

 

Spain, France, Poland and Greece are also struggling with high temperatures. But heat waves are also washing over other parts of the world, writes AFP. China has had extreme heat for several weeks and parts of Japan are expected to get between 38 and 39 degrees tomorrow, Sunday. It could touch the country's heat record.  

 

In the United States, the weekend is expected to be the hottest of the year so far, writes The Guardian. The heat spreads from California to Texas and in some places in the desert it can be closer to 49 degrees.  

Check-out houses in Yecheon. Yun Kwan-shick / AP 

 

The monsoon rains in South Asia  

Over 20 dead after rainy weather in South Korea  

 

At least 22 people have died and 14 are missing since heavy downpours caused floods and landslides in South Korea, local authorities said, according to several news agencies. Thousands have been told to evacuate their homes. 

 

The numbers are expected to rise, as more rain is expected over the Korean Peninsula tomorrow, Sunday, writes Reuters. South Korea is in the middle of the monsoon season and it has been raining heavily for the past few days.

In the worst affected areas, entire houses have been swept away in landslides, Yonhap news agency reports according to AFP.