Italy would have registered the hottest day in Europe in history to the passage of the anticyclone ‘Lucifer’

(CNN) – Authorities in Italy say the island of Sicily, the largest in the Mediterranean, could have set an all-time heat record for Europe, reaching a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

The city of Syracuse broke the record Wednesday afternoon when an anticyclone, referred to in Italian media reports as “Lucifer,” swept through and continues to advance toward the north of the country. A persistent heat wave around the Mediterranean in Europe and North Africa has contributed to some of the worst fires seen there in years.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.0 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in Athens, Greece, in 1977, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The record in Italy was confirmed by the Sicilian authorities, but must be officially verified by WMO.

A man finds respite from the heat in Messina, on the Italian island of Sicily, on Wednesday.

“At the moment there are no reasons to invalidate it, but if possible we will make an ex-post evaluation on the accuracy of the measure,” said the Sicilian Agrometeorological Information Service, the official operator of the Sicilian meteorological station.

An anticyclone is a high pressure system, where the atmospheric pressure is relatively higher than the surrounding air.

In the northern hemisphere, they rotate clockwise, while in the southern hemisphere they rotate in the other direction.

Some of the fires have been started by arsonists, but scientists say it is the climate crisis that is making heat waves and fires more frequent and intense, and therefore more destructive.

People cool off in the sea in Palermo, Sicily, on Wednesday.

A report from the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change released Monday says 38 types of weather conditions that promote wildfires have become more likely in southern Europe over the past century. Globally, heat waves and droughts that exacerbate fires have also increased.

Temperatures across the Mediterranean have been 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than average this week, and dozens of people were killed in wildfires that raged across southern Europe and North Africa, mostly in Algeria, where 65 Dead people. Deaths have also been recorded in Turkey. Parts of Italy and Greece have also been severely affected by the fires, where some villages have been largely destroyed.

Fires in Greece devastate homes and leave destruction 1:26