The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Tuesday that a temperature record of 48.8 C (119.8 F) has been set in continental Europe in 2021.
The temperature was recorded on the Italian island of Sicily on 11 August 2021, according to results published in the International Journal of Climatology, WMO public affairs officer Claire Nullis told a UN press conference in Geneva.
Claire Nullis said the previous record for continental Europe of 48.0 C was set in the Greek cities of Athens and Elefsina on 10 July 1977, based on official data from government sources. In a press release, WMO rapporteur Randall Cerveny said:
The extremes presented before the WMO for adjudication are “snapshots” of our current climate. It is possible, indeed likely, that greater extremes will occur across Europe in the future. This investigation demonstrates the alarming tendency for continuing high temperature records to be set in specific regions of the world.
