A warning has been issued to British nationals travelling to several European countries over ‘unpredictable’ wildfires.
Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are among the nations where fires have raged uncontrolled for weeks this summer, burning through thousands and thousands of acres.
Swathes of southern Europe have been evacuated, with the latest incidents in the Greek capital of Athens, which have been described as ‘biblical catastrophe’.
Extreme heat has engulfed the Mediterranean and Balkans, where temperatures have long surpassed the 40°C mark, also contributing to the fires.
This is everything you need to know about the weather and how it will affect your travels.
Greece
Firefighters are still working to extinguish the remnants of a fire near Athens that killed a woman.
Multiple buildings – including a school – have been torched, woodland devoured and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.
Most of the fronts had eased three days after the inferno had first taken hold, but officials warned against complacency as firefighters were still battling sporadic flare-ups.
Government inspectors were assessing damaged buildings and infrastructure on Wednesday.
Some residents returned to their scorched properties, hoping to find belongings amidst the debris, while others were trying to overcome the shock.
Greece is on high fire alert until Thursday, with temperatures forecast to hit 40°C, raising concern about possible flare ups. Winds are also expected to pick up.
Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia
The Foreign Office has issued a warning for wildfires to British tourists travelling to Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
It says fires are ‘possible’ for another two months, as late as October, due to the dry and hot weather.
A similar travel warning was published earlier this week for all four nations, saying: ‘Wildfires are possible from April to October due to the dry and hot weather.
‘Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable. You should: take care when visiting or driving through countryside; make sure cigarette ends are properly extinguished; not light fires or barbecues except in designated and marked areas; not leave any rubbish.’
Italy
An excessive heat warning, which has been in place for most of this summer, is still valid for large parts of Italy.
Rome is among the large cities battling temperatures above 40°C for the rest of this week.
In the Italian capital, there have been cases of people fainting in the heat in St Peter’s Square or while congregating at monuments such as the Trevi fountain.
On Monday the health ministry placed 22 cities on ‘red alert’, marking the highest risk level due to soaring temperatures.
This means that even even healthy people could be at risk from the heatwave.
Those living in or visiting them are advised to avoid direct sunlight between 11am and 6pm.
The cities on the list were Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Trieste, Verona, Bari, Venice and Viterbo.
What should you drink in a heatwave?
It’s well worn advice to drink plenty of fluids in order to avoid dehydration.
Before you reach for your water bottle, though, a doctor has claimed there’s a better option when managing a heatwave: milk.
It’s not the usual go-to come summer; we all remember Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy proclaiming ‘milk was a bad choice’ in the sweltering sunshine, right?.
However, Dr Natasha Fernando, medical director at Medichecks, says it ‘may be more hydrating than water’. Read why that’s the case here.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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