Five years after Floridia registered Europe's highest-ever temperature, residents say extreme heat is no longer measured by records but by its impact on daily life, keeping people indoors, reducing social interaction and threatening livelihoods.
The August 2021 record of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit) turned the Sicilian town into a symbol of Europe's warming climate as the continent emerged from COVID-19 restrictions.
Today, increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves are driving people indoors, leaving streets and piazzas deserted and prompting some residents to compare the extreme heat to a new form of lockdown.
The shift is visible across the town of 20,000 on the outskirts of Syracuse, the ancient Greek city on Sicily's southeastern coast. Piazza del Popolo, long Floridia's social hub and lined with cafes, palm trees and municipal buildings, is nearly empty for much of the day.
A drone view of the Sicilian town of Floridia where five years ago a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature officially registered in continental Europe, was recorded, Italy, Aug. 19, 2026. (Reuters Photo)
