Spain, Italy and Greece have been experiencing scorching temperatures for several days already, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists scurrying for shade.

But a new anticyclone dubbed Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday and could lift temperatures above 45 Celsius in parts of Italy early this week.

“We’re suffering the aftermath of a prolonged hot weather period. It’s so tiring. This scorching heat has lasted for more than a month and shown no sign of ending. The record heat we experienced a few years ago only lasted for several days,” Sophia Tessimo, a resident in Roma, Italy, said.

Greece closed the ancient Acropolis temple during the hottest part of the day on Friday to protect tourists.

In Spain, forecasters warned of the risk of forest fires and said that it would not be easy to sleep during the night, with temperatures unlikely to fall below 25C across the country. The heat wave is predicted to intensify Monday, with temperatures reaching 44C in the Guadalquivir Valley near Seville in the south of the country.

Europe’s highest recorded temperature of 48.8C, registered in Sicily two years ago, could be exceeded in the coming days, notably on the Italian island of Sardinia, meteorologists have said.