The latest development in the ongoing heat wave includes the death of an elderly woman from heat stroke – the second of its kind.
The woman, aged 84, experienced heat stroke symptoms, which led to her being hospitalized for treatment. Unfortunately, she passed away within a day of this.
Charalambos Charilaou, a spokesperson for the State Health Services Organization said that there are three more elderly individuals in a similar position, currently under treatment in the hospital for severe heat stroke symptoms.
The island nation has been heating up, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (or 104 degrees Fahrenheit). These are accompanied by strong winds.
Besides affecting the daily lives of people, the weather situation has greatly interfered with the work of firefighters – as they are under enormous workload due to neutralizing wildfires. The high temp and wind have also hampered firefighting efforts, including a, area with mountains near Nicosia, where miles of forest growth was burned.
The wildfires destroyed over 3.2 square kilometers of forest land, and led to the evacuation of forty-nine residents from 2 different communities.
Aircrafts from Jordan and Greece joined the Cypriot firefighters in their efforts to douse the fire.
