‘Another kind of lockdown’: Inside Europe’s hottest town transformed forever by climate change

Five years on from recording the highest temperature in European history, the inhabitants of Floridia measure extreme heat not by records, but by its toll on daily life—forcing people indoors, damaging livelihoods and eroding social ties.Reaching 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in August 2021, the Sicilian town became a stark emblem of Europe's warming climate as the continent emerged from Covid-19 restrictions.Today, more frequent and prolonged heatwaves leave streets and piazzas deserted, prompting some locals to compare the conditions to a new kind of lockdown.This shift is clear across the town of 20,000 near Syracuse, on Sicily's south-eastern coast. Piazza del Popolo, long the central gathering spot with its cafes, palm trees and civic buildings, now stands largely em