From scorching heat to deadly storms, Europe has no rest from ‘summer of hell’
Europe is grappling with extreme weather from soaring temperatures in southern Italy to powerful storms in Croatia and Italy, piling pressure on emergency services and residents, and challenging tourists seeking some summer recuperation.
Temperatures have consistently topped 40 degrees Celsius this week across southern and eastern European countries, and for some areas like Sicily there remains no respite. The Italian island was baking in 46 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to the Met Office, with night temperatures of 29 degrees offering little in the way of comfort.
On the Greek island of Rhodes, firefighters continued their battle to bring difficult wildfires under control, according to local media reports. Thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels after fires engulfed large parts of the island, and Greece’s fire service warned that the situation could worsen due to weather, the BBC reported.
More than 19,000 people have been evacuated by land and sea, the AP said. Greek authorities called it the biggest evacuation effort in emergency conditions in the country’s history. [Continue reading…]