Europe’s extreme weather sparks wildfires near popular holiday resorts

Parts of Europe have entered the third week of a ‘hellish’ heatwave driven by a mass of hot air from the Sahara desert.

Temperatures as high as 44°C have hit southern and eastern parts of the continent, sparking wildfires across Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria – and now in Spain.

Tourists and residents have been urged to stay inside to escape the excessive heat in Turkey, Greece and Italy.

British families heading to Spain, Portugal and Morocco this week have now been warned to brace themselves for a heatwave with highs of up to 46C.

Spain’s health ministry issued alerts for large parts of the country as the mercury climbed above 40°C, telling citizens: ‘Protect yourself; hydrate yourself; refresh yourself, and take care of more vulnerable people.’

This is everything you need to know about Europe’s extreme weather.

Portugal

A new front of wildfires has opened in the Portuguese borough of Cascais, a popular holiday town just 20 miles west of Lisbon.

Temperatures have risen to 37°C, while high winds have helped the flames to spread.

Some residents are evacuating on their own initiative, Portugal Resident reported.

As many as 11 firefighters have been treated for smoke inhalation, exhaustion and minor injuries.

Spain

Spain has already been experienced extreme temperatures in this summer, with local authorities issuing health alerts and warning of a high risk of wildfires.

In Madrid, homeless people were bussed in from across the capital last week to take shelter in an air-conditioned centre with food, drinks and a washroom area.

Meanwhile in the upmarket holiday town of Marbella, a forest fire erupted on Monday after soaring temperatures were stoked by wind.

Around 100 firefighters and 14 aircraft have been roped in to tackle the blaze in the hills of Nagueles, close to Marbella’s exclusive Golden Mile neighbourhood, according to local media reports.

Parts of Malaga were also under a heat health alert on Monday.

Italy

Temperatures have finally dropped by a few degrees across Italy, to 38°C, over the weekend.

After being hit by a heatwave, 13 cities were placed under the most severe heat warning last Tuesday: Ancona, Bologna, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Trieste and Viterbo.

Palermo, the capital of Sicily, was added to the list on Thursday.

Further north, elderly people in the city of Verona were urged to stay indoors, while sprinklers were set up to cool passersby.

Greece

Greece has been experiencing its most severe wildfire risk in two decades, with some reservoirs hitting their lowest levels in 10 years.

All fire services are currently on high alert due to multiple nationwide incidents and prevailing weather conditions.

Since Monday morning, a wildfire broke out in the Sykamino area of Oropos, north of the capital Athens.

Flames across Greece have been spreading, despite the extensive efforts of both firefighters and volunteers, and are now reaching the border with neighbouring Bulgaria.

In the last six days, a blaze has continued to rage on Mount Falakro, outside the city of Darma.

The Acropolis – the biggest cultural attraction in Greece – was forced to shut from midday on Wedndesday for five hours because of the heat.

Turkey

Temperatures have finally dropped in parts of Turkey, hovering around 30°C.

No further major fires have been reported in the country over the weekend, but firefighters remain on alert.

Last week, they aided by more than a dozen water-dropping aircraft to bring a wildfire near the town of Bergama under control.

It came after the charred bodies of three people – a child, a woman and a man – were found in a burnt woodland in the western province of İzmir’s Çeşme district.

Despite temperatures decreasing, people – especially the elderly, children and pregnant women – are being told to stay inside between 10am and 4pm.

The advisory is in force until July 28, while the heat remains above he seasonal norms.

North Macedonia

There are seven active fires on the territory of North Macedonia despite all the help authorities have received from neighbouring countries.

Flames have been spreading in the Serta mountain and heading towards the Bregalnica river.

North Macedonia’s two army and three police helicopters and a helicopter sent by Montenegro have been helping to fight the fire. 

The country declared a state of crisis for 30 days a week ago and pleaded with its neighbours for firefighting helicopters.

Bulgaria

More than 270 fires have been extinguished in the last few days in Bulgaria, but flames continue to spread.

Entire villages and parts of towns were evacuated on Thursday. Dozens of houses burnt down in the village of Voden, where people were forced to run for their lives after authorities alerted them of the danger too late.

There are now fears that a fire in Greece will cross into Bulgaria because of the strong winds.

Flames have now reached within a kilometer of the Bulgarian border. Overnight, firefighters were stationed at the border to prevent the fire from crossing into the territory.

Albania

Wildfires in Albania appear to have finally been extinguished after three weeks.

Most were located in the south but flames had been making their way up to the country’s north. 

Greece had sent four planes to help fight wildfires in the Dropull municipality.

EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said on Thursday: ‘Wildfires know no borders.

‘The EU has mobilised firefighting airplanes from Greece to support the local first responders in Albania in their fight against the wildfires. We stand ready to further support Albania if needed.’

A 72-year-old man was also found dead at his farm 125 miles south of the capital Tirana. The cause of death is believed to be heat related, according to local media reports.

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