Floridia residents say extreme heat is reshaping daily life five years after European record

Floridia, Italy. Five years after a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius was recorded near the Sicilian town, residents say extreme heat is no longer measured by records but by its effects on daily life.

Record temperature

On August 11, 2021, Sicily’s Agrometeorological Information Service (SIAS) measured 48.8C in Monasteri, a rural district about 5km from Floridia’s centre.

The World Meteorological Organization certified the reading in 2024 as the highest temperature ever recorded in continental Europe. The record still stands.

The August 2021 temperature turned Floridia into a symbol of Europe’s warming climate as the continent emerged from COVID-19 restrictions.

Daily life disrupted

Floridia, a town of about 20,000 people on the outskirts of Syracuse on Sicily’s southeastern coast, has seen streets and piazzas become deserted during much of the day as heatwaves become more frequent and prolonged.

Piazza del Popolo, the town’s traditional social hub, is nearly empty for much of the day despite being lined with cafes, palm trees and municipal buildings.

The heat also continues into the evening, disrupting the local tradition of “pigghiari u frescu”, when families bring kitchen chairs outside their homes to catch the breeze and socialise.

Residents’ concerns

“It’s awful because many people end up shut indoors. In a way, we are all experiencing another kind of lockdown,” Floridia culture councillor Serena Spada told Reuters.

“Even people with small children find themselves in this situation. Children cannot go to the park or play outside because, until late afternoon, temperatures are genuinely hostile.”

Resident Ugo Tomasello said he struggled to breathe while walking outside during extreme heat. “I could die here in the street, with no one around to help me,” he said.

Many residents initially believed the 2021 record would be an isolated event, but hot summers have since become the norm.