Regional authorities in Sicily recorded temperatures of 48.8C today as an anticyclone dubbed "Lucifer" swept the country, which, if confirmed, would be a new Italy record.
The blistering temperature was recorded near Syracuse, beating Italy's all-time record of 48.5C in Sicily in 1999, although a spokesman for the national meteorological service said this still had to be validated.
Elsewhere in southern Italy, the anticyclone was forecast to send the mercury rising to between 39-42C before sweeping northwards, with weekend temperatures of up to 40C in the central regions of Tuscany and Lazio, which includes Rome.
The heat has raised fears over the fires that have blighted Sicily and the region of Calabria all summer, many caused by arson, but fuelled by warm winds and dry soil and plants.
Last week, a European Union atmosphere monitor said the Mediterranean has become a wildfire hotspot, with leading scientists adding human-induced climate change is making heatwaves more likely and more severe.
More resources needed
Firefighters said they had recorded 300 interventions in the past 12 hours, while a 77-year-old man died from burns received while trying to shelter his herd in the countryside near Reggio Calabria.
Elsewhere in Calabria, fires threatened the Aspromonte mountain range, designated as a UNESCO area of international geological significance.
Read more:
Floods hit Turkey's north days after wildfires ravage south
Greece counts cost as Evia fire 'slowly coming under control'
The deputy head of environmental NGO WWF Italy, Dante Caserta, called for more resources, such as air support, to quell the flames "or it will be too late, and we will lose forever a priceless heritage".
The Madonie mountain range, near the Sicilian capital Palermo, has also for several days been besieged by flames that have destroyed crops, animals, homes and industrial buildings.
Sicily's governor, Nello Musumeci, called for a state of emergency to be declared for the mountains, while Agriculture Minister Stefano Patuanelli visited to meet local mayors around Palermo.
"The fires are an emergency that need immediate responses, first and foremost with the relief that must be given to those who have lost everything," Mr Patuanelli said.
Blazes have also devastated Sardinia, with 13 fires recorded yesterday. Over 20,000 hectares burned last month in the west of the island during the worst fires seen in decades.
Southern Europe has experienced intense heatwaves and wildfires this summer as experts warn climate change increases the intensity and frequency of such extreme weather events.
