Europe roasts in deadly 44C 'African bubble': Brutal heatwave settles over continent with red alerts in drought-hit Italy, raging wildfires in Greece and health warnings for tourists on Spanish holiday islands

Southern Europe continues to roast in ferocious heat, with scorching and dry conditions fanning wildfires in Greece and around the Balkans and seeing red alerts issued across Italy.

Greece is experiencing its 11th consecutive day of a heatwave today, with temperatures forecast to reach 43C and fires raging in the Peloponnese.

Meteorologists have warned that there is going to be little respite over the coming days, with a 'hot air bubble' from Africa set to bake the country and wider region until Sunday.

Meanwhile in western Europe, parts of the UK are experiencing a mini heatwave,  and most of neighbouring France is set to see temperatures rise above 30C, with the mercury rising up to 40C in the south.

Tourist hotspots throughout the Med are set to bake, with excessive heat alerts in place in Croatia and Spain, where temperatures could hit 44C today in what is the  country's first heatwave of the summer.

GREECE: A wildfire burns at Sofiko near Corinth in Greece. A number of firefighters have been injured battling the blaze

SPAIN: Sunbathers on a beach in Barcelona as Spain sees its first heatwave of the summer

FRANCE: People protect themselves with a parasol during hot weather in Nice, on the French Riviera

TURKEY: Locals, overwhelmed by the hot weather and humidity, try to cool off by swimming in the sea at Uskudar Salacak beach in Istanbul

ITALY: Pictures from the end of June show Lake Pergusa in Sicily almost completely dried up. Reports from recent days suggest it is still depleted amid the hot and dry weather

CROATIA: Sunbathers are seen trying to cool off by the sea in Split. A record sea temperature was recorded in the Adriatic this week

After the Iberian Peninsula saw cooler than usual weather so far this summer, the country's Met Office AEMET expects temperatures to exceed 38C in most of the country today.

Temperatures could reach as much as 42-44 C in the southern Guadalquivir Valley, it said, with the peak of the heat on Friday, when most areas will warm up to 40C. 

Heatwave warnings are in place for large swathes of the country, including the Balearic Islands.

Holidaymakers have flocked to beaches throughout the Med as the summer season hots up, desperately looking to cool off in the sea amid the soaring temperatures.

But in Croatia, the highest-ever temperature in the Adriatic Sea was recorded this week, with a buoy thermometer reaching nearly 30C off Dubrovnik, the country's most popular tourism spot.

It is the second week that temperatures have been hovering around 40C in the region, with neighbouring Bosnia and Serbia also hit by the heat.

The Bosnian town of Mostar has registered a high of 40C for six consecutive days, it was reported yesterday.

Serbia's state power company reported record consumption on Tuesday due to the need for air conditioning in homes. 

In Albania, the heat led the government to reschedule working hours for civil servants, making it easier for some to work from home. 

Holidaymakers have flocked to beaches throughout the Med as the summer season hots up

A tourist poses for a photo in front of the Caryatids atop the Acropolis hill, as a wildfire burns in the background, amid high temperatures in Athens

A boy cools off at a fountain in a park during a heatwave in Kyiv on July 17, 2024

In Croatia, the highest-ever temperatures have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea this week

Neighboring North Macedonia struggled with dozens of wildfires that had broken out in the previous 24 hours. 

One major blaze stretched across nearly 30 kilometers (21 miles). Firefighting aircraft from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania and Turkey responded to the country's call for assistance.

Greece has been ravaged by wildfires over recent weeks, with the latest breaking out in Sofiko in the western region of Corinthia yesterday.

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze, with some 140 remaining at the scene today. 

Four were reportedly injured, including one who suffered a heart attack and had to be taken to hospital.

A firefighting airplane drops water during a wildfire at Sofiko near Corinth, Peloponnese, Greece

A photojournalist covers the wildfire at Sofiko near Corinth, Peloponnese, Greece

Burnt trees in a forest decimated by a wildfire in Greece's Peloponnese region

A firefighting airplane drops water during a wildfire at Sofiko near Corinth

Firefighters and volunteers work to extinguish the huge wildfire at Sofiko near Corinth

Macedonian firefighters spray water on trees as during a wildfire near Negotino, on July 17, 2024

A forest fire in North Macedonia, next to a military training ground near the town of Negotino, on July 17 ,2024

Two firefighters have died while putting out a fire in the Basilicata region in southern Italy, Italian authorities said.

People have also been forced to evacuate their homes due to wildfires in Bulgaria. 

In Romania, where an orange heatwave alert is in place, one person has reportedly died due to the heat.

Several cities across Ukraine have also been recording historically high temperatures, officials said on Wednesday.

Dealing with the heat is especially difficult at a time when major urban hubs are suffering long periods without electricity after Russian attacks on power plants. 

In Greece, the Culture Ministry ordered the closure of the Acropolis - the country's biggest cultural attraction - from midday for five hours.

An Emperor Tamarin eats frozen fruit as exceptionally high temperatures soared in the Italian capital, at Rome Bioparco on July 18, 2024 in Rome

A seal eats frozen fish at Rome Bioparco as exceptionally high temperatures soared in the Italian capital

Tigers get frozen food at the zoo in Rome and shelter in the shade amid the high temperatures

A tiger eats frozen meat to cool off at the 'Bioparco' zoo during a heat wave in Rome

Tourists hoping to visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis queued early in the morning to beat the worst of the heat, while the Red Cross handed chilled bottled water and information fliers to those waiting in line.

'We got it done and got out quick, and now we're going to some air conditions and some more libation and enjoy the day,' said Toby Dunlap, who was visiting from Pennsylvania and had just toured the Acropolis. 

'But it's hot up there, it really is. If you don't come prepared, you're going to sweat.'

'It's absolutely boiling,' said 25-year-old Lucy Johnson, who is on a cruise that docked at the Athens port of Piraeus.

'I'm not used to this weather: in the UK it's normally raining,' she said.

Over in France, temperatures are expected to soar to as high as 40C in the south east.

A local resident walks past misters to cool off in a park during a heatwave in Kyiv on July 17

Women shower at the Bacvice beach in Split, Croatia, July 17, 2024

The country as a whole is expected to see soaring temperatures over the coming days, according to Meteo Express.

From Thursday to Saturday, the 30C mark will be exceeded in over three quarters of France, the weather site says.

Oceanic air is expected to then come in from the west, potentially causing strong storms from Saturday evening. 

Meanwhile, Italy added Palermo in Sicily, to the list of 13 cities in the country with a severe heat warning. 

Elderly people in the city of Verona were urged to stay indoors, while sprinklers were set up to cool passersby. 

In the capital Rome, a tourist who was trying to keep cool with a fan said: 'It's hellishly hot... these fans help a little too, but it's really hot.' 

A woman tries to evacuate a horse after a wildfire swept through the village of Voden, south-eastern Bulgaria on July 17, 2024

People run to evacuate after a wildfire swept through the village of Voden, south eastern Bulgaria on July 17, 2024,

Members of a volunteer firefighting team try to extinguish a wildfire at Sofiko in Greece

A helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Greece on Wednesday, July 17

Meanwhile further south, a severe drought in Sicily has caused the island's only natural lake to dry up which, it was reported earlier this month, with pictures showing the severely diminished water source.

Sicily has suffered months of below-average rainfall, with the Italian government declaring a state of emergency over the crisis, which has devastated crops and desiccated pastures.

Lake Pergusa, part of a natural reserve close to the central Sicilian town of Enna, has shrunk dramatically because of a lethal mix of hot weather and low rains, scientists said.

'The lake is no longer there. The part of the water that was visible has completely disappeared, apart from this puddle,' Giuseppe Maria Amato, from environmentalist group Legambiente, said, pointing to a pool of water where the once