Greece and the wider Balkans sweltered under the third heatwave of the summer yesterday, with labourers barred from work, tourists kept away from the ruins and firemen battling blazes scattered across the arid countryside.
Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in and around Athens and other regions were ordered to pause work from midday until 5pm, as the temperature was expected to climb as high as 43C, the labour ministry said.
In the Feneo area in Corinth in southern Greece, 185 firemen with 50 vehicles were combating a strong forest fire, helped by 15 planes and 11 helicopters.
Two villages there were evacuated out of precaution as the fire raged. The governor of the surrounding Peloponnese region, Dimitris Ptochos, said the situation was difficult, local media reported.
Greece has long been known for the hot, sunny summers that attract tens of millions of tourists every year. But climate change has led to longer and more severe heatwaves, as well as destructive floods and wildfires.
Authorities said they would shut the ancient Acropolis ruins, Greece’s most-visited tourist site atop a rocky hill above Athens, for five hours from midday today. It did the same yesterday
The heatwave will continue until Sunday, the Greek meteorological service said.
Scorching heat also gripped neighbouring Bulgaria, with authorities urging businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours.
On the border between Kosovo and Albania, weeks without rain and increased hydroelectric power production nearly emptied Lake Fierza. Cows ate grass in what used to be the lake bottom.
In Kosovo, flames and thick smoke could be seen approaching houses in a village in the Dubrava area near a jail and a military base yesterday. The fire was out of control in an area of scrubland and grass, fanned by heavy winds.
In Albania, firemen assisted by four aircraft from Italy and Greece battled two wildfires at a national park in the north and near the village of Dukat.
Last month, large parts of Western Europe sweltered in another severe heatwave that left many dead and triggered forest fires and health alerts across the region.
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