Yahoo News Greece fires – Live: 61 wildfires erupt in 24 hours as flames reach outskirts of Athens
Wildfires continue to rage across parts of southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Blazes besieging Greece have reached the outskirts of Athens, with 61 fires breaking out across the country in 24 hours.
As high temperatures and wind caused a perfect storm for fires to break out, firefighters and water helicopters rushed to a blaze in Kifissia, just north of Athens, managing to put out the flames and prevent the fire from spreading.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from islands including Corfu, Evia and Rhodes, while travel companies have announced flight cancellations to fire-hit hotspots.
And wildfires have continued to cause chaos elsewhere in southern Europe and North Africa, with blazes in Italy, Tunisia and Algeria.
At least three people have died in Italy and another four in Greece. In north Africa, at least 34 people died in Algeria due devastating forest fires along its Mediterranean coast.
Spain's Balearic Islands, also a popular tourist spot, have been put on high alert for wildfires as temperatures crept up to 40C this week.
The UK government has also updated its travel advice to areas hit by fires, advising travellers to ensure the correct insurance is in place, and signing up for local emergency alerts.
Yahoo News has paused live blog coverage. For more wildfire news please click here
- H
center no-repeat #999999;cursor:pointer;background-size: 9px 10px;top:-8px; border-radius: 2px;">↵
‘Era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN chief as July set to be hottest month on record
Head of World Meteorological Organization also warns ‘climate action is not a luxury but a must’ as temperatures soar
- H
UK's 2022 weather - which saw 40C temperature record - to become 'typical'
Last year's multi record-breaking hot and dry weather will become "typical" in the UK in under 40 years, the Met Office has warned.
The remarkable weather of last year - when almost every month was hotter than average, wildfires torched homes and more people died in the summer - was considered extreme. Not only was 2022 the first year in the UK when heat first soared to 40C (104F), shattering the previous record by a significant 1.6C, it was also the warmest year on record.
- H
France's forests under threat of climate change need billions of euros invested to adapt
France needs to invest eight to ten billion euros over ten years to adapt its forests to climate change by planting trees and better managing the land.
Introducing a report on the state of France’s forests, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau on Wednesday evoked the need for intervention on “more than a million hectares” of forest, at a cost of eight to ten billion euros over the next decade. The cost will be shared between the state and private property owners.
If our live blog coverage above does not load, please click the link
Watch: First flights due to rescue British holidaymakers fleeing Rhodes wildfires
