Outdoor jobs in the mountains and inland areas were banned on Wednesday afternoon due to record high temperatures which are expected to persist throughout the week, the labour inspection department announced.

Amidst an orange weather warning, heavy and medium outdoor labour, including delivery services on two-wheel vehicles, was suspended inland and in the mountains from 12 to 4pm on Wednesday.

The labour department cited the alert which was in force from 9pm on Tuesday and remained until 6pm on Wednesday.

The warning was issued by the met service for inland areas with an altitude below 300 metres and more than 10 kilometres from the coastline as well as the highest mountains that range from 1,150 to 1,650 metres.

In the remaining areas, a yellow weather alert was in force, meaning delivery services will also need to come to a halt based on a relevant cabinet decision.

This week the mountain regions recorded the highest temperatures in over 25 years.

The maximum temperature at Prodromos forest reached 38.4C on Monday, the highest recorded by the station since it was installed in 1958, an official from the met service told the Cyprus Mail. The previous record was in 2020 with 37C. A new high record was also reached in Troodos where the maximum temperature rose up to 34.9C this year, the highest since 1997 and the hottest since 2010 with 32.4C.

Data from the met service showed that the coolest temperatures in the mountains were recorded in 1997.

On Wednesday, temperatures inland reached 40C, around 32C in the west and north coasts, around 33C on the rest of the coast and around 35C in the higher mountains according to the met service.

Similar temperatures are expected until Sunday with a slight reduction of 1 or 2 degrees in the coastal areas.

“We are fully aligned with the government’s decree,” a spokesperson for Wolt delivery service told the Cyprus Mail, commenting on the delivery ban.

On two Wolt drivers that crashed in Limassol’s Molos area on Monday during the hours of a similar ban, the spokesperson said the platform is automatically deactivated and members of the public cannot put orders through.

“It could be a case of them driving for personal use while still wearing their helmet and uniform.”

The labour inspection department reminded companies and self-employed persons that they must take specific measures to protect workers against heat stress and heatstroke. This includes those who work in areas where an orange alert has not been issued.

The department explained that organisations should measure the temperature and humidity in the places of work and adjust their operations accordingly such as organising frequent short breaks or making cool drinking water available to workers.