Sawt Falasteen - Ambulances on stand-by as southern Europe heatwave intensifies

Ambulances stood on standby near tourist hotspots and regions issued fire warnings as experts warned that such heatwaves, intensified by climate change, would become more frequent.

Peaks of 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) were expected in areas of southern Spain and Portugal, and nearly all of France sweltered in an intense heat expected to last for several days.

In Italy, 21 cities across the length of the country were on high alert for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence, Rome and Catania.

"We were supposed to be visiting the Colosseum, but my mum nearly fainted," said British tourist Anna Becker, who had travelled to Rome from a "muggy, miserable" Verona.

Hospital emergency departments across Italy have reported an increase in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino, vice president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine.

"We've seen around a 10-percent increase, mainly in cities that not only have very high temperatures but also a higher humidity rate," he told AFP.

It is mainly elderly people, cancer patients or homeless people, presenting with dehydration, heat stroke, fatigue."

- 'Climate shelters' -

Hospitals such as the Ospedale dei Colli in Naples have set up dedicated heatstroke pathways to speed access to vital treatments such as cold water immersion, Guarino said.

In Venice, authorities offered free guided tours for people over 75s in air-conditioned museums and public buildings.

Bologna has set up seven "climate shelters" with air conditioning and drinking water, Florence has called on doctors to flag up the lonely and vulnerable, Ancona is delivering dehumidifiers to the needy, and Rome has offered free access to city swimming pools for those over 70.

In Lisbon, 39-year-old pharmacist Sofia Monnteiro said despite advising people "not to go out" during the hottest hours of the day, "we have already had some cases of heat strokes and burns".

French tourist Cedric Gerard, on holiday in the Portugese capital, said the heatwave was "particularly intense this year".

"It's hard to bear," the 50-year-old added.

Several areas in the southern half of Portugal, including Lisbon, are under a red warning until Monday night due to "persistently extremely high maximum temperature values", said the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

Two-thirds of Portugal was also on high alert Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires -- as was the Italian island of Sicily, where firefighters tackled 15 blazes Saturday.

- Invasive species -

Scientists say climate change is stoking hotter and more intense heatwaves, particularly in cities where the so-called "urban heat island" effect amplifies temperatures among tightly packed buildings.

"The heat waves in the Mediterranean region have become more frequent and more intense in recent years, with peaks of 37 degrees or even more in cities, where the urban heat island effect raises the temperatures even further," said Emanuela Piervitali, a researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

"A further increase in temperature and heat extremes is expected in the future, so we will have to get used to temperatures with peaks even higher than those we are experiencing now," she told AFP.

The heat is also attracting invasive species, which are thriving in the more tropical climes.

ISPRA launched a campaign this week urging fishermen and tourists alike to report sightings of four "potentially dangerous" venomous species.

The lionfish, silver-cheeked toadfish, dusky spinefoot and marbled spinefoot are beginning to appear in waters off southern Italy as the Mediterranean warms, it said.

"With this stifling heat, the temperature can exceed 40 degrees in some nests," said Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO).

"We are taking in birds in difficulty everywhere; our seven care centres are saturated," he added.

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B.Khalifa--SF-PST