Red weather warning issued for parts of Europe as Greece put on fire alert

Red weather warning issued for parts of Europe as Greece put on fire alert

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Firefighters extinguish a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, on June 19 (Anadolu via Getty Images)

In neighbouring Montenegro, where health authorities also warned people to shelter out of the sun until late afternoon, tens of thousands of tourists flocked to Adriatic beaches, including the Ada Bojana resort on the border with Albania.

“It (heat) is kind of challenging, but we are in the water, on the beach,” said Kolya, 35, a tourist from Germany.

In Greece on Wednesday, firefighters fought wildfires near Athens that forced dozens to flee their homes, and authorities said they believed the flames were the result of arson as well as hot, dry conditions.

The country’s Civil Protection and Climate Crisis ministry has issued a warning of fires for parts of the country on Friday.

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The wildfire warning map for Greece on Friday (https://civilprotection.gov.gr/)

There is Extreme Fire Danger for Attica in the west of Greece, an area that includes Athens. There is also very high danger for several other regions in central and western Greece.

Deadly heatwaves are scorching cities on four continents as the Northern Hemisphere marks the first day of summer.

Record temperatures already reached in recent days are suspected to have caused hundreds if not thousands of deaths across Asia and Europe.

In Saudi Arabia, nearly two million Muslim pilgrims are finishing the haj at the Grand Mosque in Mecca this week. But hundreds have died during the journey amid temperatures above 51 C (124 F), according to reports from foreign authorities.

Egyptian medical and security sources said on Thursday that at least 530 Egyptians had died while participating in the haj – up from 307 reported as of yesterday. Another 40 remain missing.

Source link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-serbia-heatwave-weather-fires-b2565990.html

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Publish date : 2024-06-20 13:52:00

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