Extreme heat ‘to continue all week’
Cyprus is expected to experience exceptionally high temperatures until Friday, met office expert Matthaios Papadakis said on Saturday.
With temperatures on Saturday reaching a maximum of 43C, he said it can be expected that temperatures will remain “above average” throughout the week.
He added that the highest temperature recorded in Cyprus so far this week was 44.7 degrees Celsius on July 24.
Earlier on Saturday, the met office had issued an orange weather warning for extreme high temperatures, while the forestry department said the risk level for forest fires had been set at “red alert”.
It warned the public that the act of causing a forest fire “is an offence which carries severe penalties”.
As such, it called on people to “be particularly careful during excursions” and to “avoid actions which may cause a fire”.
Anyone who notices smoke or a fire is urged to call the forestry department at 1407 or the fire brigade at 112.
Meanwhile, the labour inspection department on Saturday ordered that all outside work be suspended between 12pm and 4pm in areas impacted by the orange weather warning.
The ban is in force in all areas more than 10 kilometres from the coast with an altitude below 300 metres above sea level, and in all areas with an altitude above 1,150m above sea level.
As such, the labour inspection department said that “all outdoor heavy and moderate work”, as well as “work involving the transport or delivery of products using two-wheeled vehicles” be halted in the early afternoon in those areas.
It clarified that this includes food delivery services and postal workers.