A girl pours a bottle of water on her face and head as she cools off in front of a church in the center of Messina, on the island of Sicily, during a heat wave on July 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

GENEVA - A temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius recorded on the Italian island of Sicily two years ago is the highest ever seen in Europe, the United Nations' weather agency said Tuesday.

The World Meteorological Organization said the sizzling temperature was documented on Aug 11, 2021. At that time, the continent was in the grip of extreme heat.

The temperature surpassed the previous European record of 48.0 degrees Celsius, seen in the Greek cities of Athens and Elefsina on July 10, 1977.

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"It is possible, indeed likely, that greater extremes will occur across Europe in the future," said Randall Cerveny, rapporteur of climate and weather extremes for the WMO.

Tourists suffer from heat as they visit Palermo, Italy, during a hot day with temperatures over 40°C, July 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

"Beyond that, this investigation demonstrates the alarming tendency for continuing high temperature records to be set in specific regions of the world," Cerveny said.

Such evaluations are published in peer-reviewed journals and included in the Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes, which collects records on the world's highest and lowest temperatures, rainfall, heaviest hailstone, longest dry period, maximum gust of wind, longest lightning flash and weather-related mortalities.

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The weather and climate agency is currently conducting a range of other investigations, including whether Tropical Cyclone Freddy broke the record last year as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone.