One European country is currently experiencing an unprecedented heatwave that is causing wildfires to rage and tourists to die from the exreme heat.
Greece is having to close attractions that power its economy due to the extreme thermometer readings on the mainland and across its islands. The midday heat in Athens hit an astonishing 45C last week, with Crete and the Peloponnese peninsula seeing 44C.
This comes amid a spike in tourist deaths across Greece, as at least five tourists have died or gone missing in recent weeks, including TV doctor Michael Mosley.
American tourist Toby Sheets was found dead on the island of Mathraki on Sunday, and the remains of a Dutch tourist were discovered on Samos the day before.
The heatwave prompted the Foreign Office to update its travel advice, putting Greece on a red alert, as well as Cyprus, Turkey, and Spain. Brits still wanting to travel there have been told to exercise caution and take necessary precautions.
It also forced Greece’s most famous landmark and tourist attraction, the Acropolis, to close during the hottest hours of the afternoon after a tourist fainted while waiting to buy a ticket.
Wildfires are also ripping through the countryside as firefighters struggle to put them out due to the perfect storm of weather conditions perpetuating their spread.
The erupted across the mainland and islands, and some are suspected to be the result or arson. Last year, wildfires in Rhodes caused the evacuation of thousands, leaving the country on high alert.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s minister for civil protection, warned that the high temperatures and strong winds of up to 46 mph have made wildfires all the more prevelant and hard to contain.
He said: “The early start of the heat waves, combined with the dry winter, has led to a very difficult fire season. Almost every 10 minutes a new fire breaks out. Even the smallest fire can rapidly turn into a fiery front.”
Greek state TV meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos warned that the wildfires will only become more prevalent due to climate change. He said: “In the 20th century, we never had a heatwave before June 19. We have had several in the 21st century.”
Temperatures have begun to cool down, but the hottest month of the year, July, is just around the corner.
