Soaring temperatures are threatening lives and homes, livelihoods and tourism as a heatwave grips Southern Europe, officials have said. Wildfires were nearing residential areas on the outskirts of Athens in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2023/07/19/europe-heatwave-spain-red-alert/" target="_blank">Greece </a>on Wednesday, as firefighters worked to prevent the flames from reaching coastal oil refineries. Air water drops resumed at dawn. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2023/07/05/worlds-hottest-day-recorded-as-continents-suffer-deadly-heatwaves/" target="_blank">Italy, Spain and France</a> have also endured surging temperatures as a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2023/07/16/millions-suffer-extreme-heat-globally-after-scientists-issue-climate-change-warning/" target="_blank">heatwave </a>crosses the continent. Wildfires west of Athens were still burning on Wednesday as water planes resumed operations over the towns of Mandra and Loutraki. The area is close to the Peloponnese peninsula that includes Sparta, Corinth and Argos and a number of popular holiday beaches. Firefighters kept flames away from a complex of coastal refineries in the Corinth area, a member of the fire service told Reuters. “We remain on a level of high alert,” said fire spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis. Four planes sent from Italy and France will join the efforts on Wednesday, authorities said. Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece was making “superhuman efforts” to tame the fires and warned that weather would be challenging on Wednesday. One blaze broke out on Monday, about 30km north of Athens, and spread rapidly to reach Mandra on Tuesday, burning houses and forcing people to flee. Dozens of homes were gutted and hundreds of people have been forced to flee. Traffic was suspended for hours on two roads connecting the mainland to the peninsula. Officials warned residents and tourists at Mediterranean destinations to stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day. In Spain’s Canary Islands, about 400 firefighters have battled a blaze that has ravaged 3,500 hectares of forest and forced 4,000 residents to leave their homes. People have been told to wear face masks outside due to poor air quality. Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat, with peak temperatures of 43ºC forecast in areas near the Ebro river on the north-eastern mainland and on the island of Mallorca. France is one of the worst-affected countries for heat-related deaths, many of which involved older people in city apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning. Temperatures of up 40°C were expected in parts of southern France on Wednesday. A record 40.6°C was recorded in Verdun, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, while high the Alps, the Alpe d'Huez resort registered a record 29.5°C. The heat was also unforgiving in Italy. Red alerts have been issued for 23 cities, from Messina in the south to Trieste in the north, with Rome and Florence also on the list. In the Lazio region, which includes Rome, there has been a 20 per cent increase in medical emergencies over the same time last year because of the heat. Teams of mobile health workers are visiting elderly people in the capital. "These people are afraid they won't make it, they are afraid they can't go out," Dr Claudio Consoli said. Forecasters say the European temperature record of 48.8°C could be broken on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. At Lanusei in Sardinia's east, a children's summer camp was restricting beach visits to the early morning and banning sports outdoors. In the Sardinian capital of Cagliari, pharmacist Teresa Angioni said there had been a rise in the number of people complaining of heat-related symptoms.
