Heat wave "Lucifer" fans forest fires, forces early wine harvest
ROME -- As Texas braces for more water, much of Europe is sweltering through a brutal heat wave. Europeans are calling it "Lucifer" -- and it's living up to its name. Intense heat is fanning forest fires across France and Spain, CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports.
Scientists warn summers will keep getting hotter.
Record high temperatures in Romania caused some people to collapse, and they're melting an Alpine glacier -- slowing summer skiing.
Zookeepers in Hungary tried to give polar bears some relief in the form of blocks of ice.
In Italy, where authorities in two dozen cities issued weather-risk warnings, the wine harvest started weeks early because grapes ripened so quickly. Italy's annual wine harvest is the biggest in the world.
"The high temperatures have created a drastic decline in production of about 10 to 15 percent," said Simone Frusca, a spokesman for Italy's agriculture lobby.
But despite the heat, many of Italy's winemakers still see the glass as half full. The "quantity" may not be there with wine, but they say it could be a very good year in terms of "quality."
In Rome, ornate fountains are even more of a draw in the 100-degree heat.
Georgio Airu, of Rome's capitol police, explained patrols have been stepped up at fountains following a series of incidents in which some -- including a skinny dipper -- just dove in.
At the Trevi Fountain, the fine is now $500 -- about €425 -- if anyone jumps in.
"The problem is that some of them look at us and when they see we are turn our heads in the other direction, they get into [the water]," Airu said.
Airu suggests other ways to cool down: ice cream. "Have an ice cream, or whatever else," he said.
"Gelatos, a gelato every day, sometimes two," one resident said.
Scientists are warning that, in Europe, avoidable deaths due to extreme weather could increase fifty-fold by the end of this century if global warming is not slowed.
