Land surface temperatures hit 50°C in Turkey, Cyprus island

ANKARA

Land surface temperatures reached a staggering 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Turkey and on Cyprus island, a map released Tuesday by the European Space Agency (ESA) showed.

The ESA shared the map showing sea and land surface temperatures that were captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on Aug. 2.

“The Mediterranean has been suffering a heatwave for some weeks, leading to numerous wildfires. Turkey, for example, is reported to be amid the country's worst blazes in at least a decade,” said the agency.

“While weather forecasts use predicted air temperatures, this satellite instrument measures the real amount of energy radiating from Earth – and depicts the real temperature of the land surface,” it added.