"Recently, Heatwave Deaths Reported..." First Snowfall in the Alps in August

Last Month's Heatwave in Italy
Unexpected 'First Snow of August' in Northwest Region
Some Areas Experienced Heavy Snow and Vehicle Stranding

As the globe suffers from abnormal weather, early snow has fallen in the northwestern region of Italy.

According to the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera on the 28th (local time), snowflakes began to fall from the morning in Sestriere, an Alpine mountainous area near Turin in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, recording a snowfall of 5 cm.

Sestriere, located at an altitude of 1981 meters, was the venue for the skiing events of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. Although it is a high-altitude area that usually receives heavy snowfall, it is reported that snow in the summer occurred for the first time in 10 years. Last year, the first snow fell in November.

Snowfall in Sestriere at the end of August. [Image source=Corriere della Sera official Facebook·Yonhap News]

Regarding this phenomenon, the Turin regional daily newspaper Turin Today reported, "The first snow fell on August 28, with the ski season still far away."

Meanwhile, heavy snowfall also occurred at Colle della N?via, a high-altitude area at 2748 meters near Cuneo, about 90 km south of Turin. Several vehicles were stranded due to the heavy snow, but no casualties have been reported yet.

Italy, suffering from record-breaking heat last month... the name 'Cerberus' also emerged

In Genoa, Italy, where record-breaking heatwaves continued, a citizen was walking barefoot past a fountain on the 17th of last month (local time).
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Earlier, Italy had been suffering from record-breaking heat until last month. On the 18th of last month, the capital city Rome recorded a maximum temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius, breaking the all-time high record, and Sicily, a representative resort in the south, soared to 47.4 degrees Celsius.

Due to the unprecedented heatwave, the mortality rate in central and southern Italy increased by 7% compared to the average last month. According to the Italian Ministry of Health, the increase in mortality was particularly notable in southern cities such as Bari (50%), Catania (34%), and Reggio Calabria (34%).

The Italian Meteorological Society named this heatwave "Cerberus." Cerberus is the three-headed monster that guards the gates of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy. The name signifies that the heatwave and its resulting damage are as severe as hell. At the time, Luca Mercalli, president of the Meteorological Society, told CNN, "The Earth is suffering from a high fever, and Italy is directly in the impact zone."

Italy is one of the countries with the highest number of deaths whenever Europe is hit by a heatwave. According to a paper published last month in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, a total of 61,672 people died from heatwaves in Europe between May 30 and September 4 last year. Especially during the severe heatwave from July 18 to 24 last year, 11,637 people died from heat-related causes in just one week.

The country with the highest number of heatwave deaths was Italy (18,010), followed by Spain (11,324), Germany (8,173), France (4,807), the United Kingdom (3,469), Greece (3,092), and Romania (2,455).