Greece fires – live: Blaze triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot

A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.

The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.

No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.

Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.

The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site

The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.

He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.

Deadly wildfires on Greece’s mainland have killed two as wildfires spread in Europe and north Africa including Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia.

Key Points

• Fire risk remains ‘extreme’ for several areas of Greece today, fire brigade warns

• Mainland Greece hit by fresh wildfires overnight

• ‘It was like an apocalypse’: Palermo journalist recalls overnight blaze

• UK advises people visiting Greece to carry ‘appropriate insurance’

• UK Met Office warns temperature higher than 40C will be frequent in future

• Wildfire triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot

Firefighters battle Greece wildfires overnight as farms and factories burn

Thursday 27 July 2023 09:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Firefighters in Greece battled flames burning for the 10th day on the island of Rhodes, while new blazes erupted on the mainland that destroyed farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals.

The blazes across the country, which have been supercharged by strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), killed a further two people in central Greece on Wednesday, taking the death toll from the fires to five.

Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens.

Update from TUI

Thursday 27 July 2023 09:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A TUI UK&I spokesperson said: “Our teams in Rhodes have been working tirelessly to support customers impacted by the wildfires in south-eastern parts of the island. We’ve brought hundreds of people home and hundreds more will be travelling back to the UK on flights today.

“We appreciate how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who had to evacuate their hotels and curtail their holidays. And we also understand those due to travel to Rhodes may be concerned about how their holidays could be affected.

“We’re continuing to monitor the situation and have made some changes to our holiday programme in the coming days. We’d like to reassure customers their health and safety is our top priority and re-iterate that we are constantly reviewing the situation and will provide any new updates as soon as we are able.”

Rhodes wildfires could be controlled by weekend, fire official says

Thursday 27 July 2023 10:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The wildfires burning in Rhodes for a 10th day could be largely quelled in the next two days, a fire service official on the island has said.

While strong winds have caused repeated flare-ups in recent days, the official told The Independent: “The view today is quite [a bit] better … If the wind doesn’t get stronger tomorrow, the last day could be today or tomorrow.”

“But it is still burning in a lot of places in the south,” they said, adding that some 210 firefighters were currently battling persistent blazes near the mountain villages of Vati and Profilia, and behind the seaside town of Gennadi.

Along with four firefighting airplanes and four helicopters, there are also 45 fire vehicles from Rhodes and Athens currently out in force, and over 100 cars from volunteer civilians on the island, the official said.

Are flights still going to Rhodes and can I get a refund? TUI explains

Thursday 27 July 2023 10:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Here are the main updates:

“Scheduled return flights from Rhodes to the UK – will continue to operate as planned.

“Up to and including Friday 28th July – no outbound flights will operate to Rhodes - all flight-only customers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds, and package holiday customers will have the option to amend their booking or cancel with a full refund. Refunds will be processed within 14 days of the booking being cancelled.

“Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July – our holiday programme to the North of Rhodes, where hotels and resorts are fully operational, will resume. Any customers who would prefer to amend to another available holiday can do so or they can cancel with a full refund.

“Up to and including Friday 11th August – Whilst a number of hotels in the South of the island are open, TUI is offering customers travelling on a package holiday to a hotel in the south of the island the option to rebook or amend their holiday, or cancel with a full refund.

“Our teams will be contacting these customers to discuss their preferred options, including anyone who’s booked on a non-TUI flight.”

Mainland Greece hit by fresh wildfires overnight

Thursday 27 July 2023 10:49 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wildfires ripped through mainland Greece late on Wednesday, leaving a wake of death and destruction.

Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens.

The body of a 45-year old shepherd was found in a rural area on Wednesday evening, the fire brigade said. Earlier, authorities had found the body of a woman, state TV ERT said. Both deaths were attributed to the fires.

In Sesklo, a village near the coastal port city of Volos, the regional capital, the charred remains of a cow could be seen on a farm as locals coached away other cattle.

“It started from the grass on various fronts in the area and we got to this situation from the lack of public authority, of regional governors, mayors, to burn half of Magnesia,” farmer Kostas Koukouvinos said.

Late on Wednesday flames threatened the industrial zone of the city of Volos. Firefighters circled the area as they tried to protect it, a Reuters witness said.

The labour ministry urged employers in the area to suspend operations on Thursday.

A separate wildfire flared near the city of Lamia, south of Volos. Residents of several settlements were told to leave their homes.

‘It was like an apocalypse’: Palermo journalist recalls overnight blaze

Thursday 27 July 2023 11:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A journalist from BlogSicilia said scenes of the overnight blaze in Palermo were like an “apocalypse scene”.

Italian firefighters said they battled nearly 1,400 fires between Sunday and Tuesday, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria, the southern mainland region where a bedridden 98-year-old man was killed as fire consumed his home.

Fires were still burning on the hills around Palermo on Wednesday, with Canadair planes back in operation to try to douse the flames.

Speaking to Sky News, Piero Messina said: “The landscape from Palermo from the night of the fire seems to be really an apocalypse scene. It seems to be not real.”

Though Mr Messina acknowledged climate change played a crucial role in the devastating wildfires, he said an inquiry has been opened by the prosecutor office in Palermo to investigate whether criminal elements are involved.

“Every year in Sicily, we have to fight against arson fires and this time it could be really a nightmare,” he said.

Fire risk remains ‘extreme’ for several areas of Greece today, fire brigade warns

Thursday 27 July 2023 11:17 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The risk of fire remained “extreme” for several areas of Greece on Thursday, the fire brigade said.

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece was experiencing “very dangerous summer days.”

The fires, he said, were fanned by strong winds and worsened by abnormally high temperatures, kindling fronts stretching for several kilometres.

“Given the climate crisis, we will again have extreme weather conditions that will again test our strength. Nothing is over, the battle will continue throughout the summer,” he said.

In pictures: Nature scorched and charred in Corfu

Thursday 27 July 2023 11:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Pictures show the natural world scorched after fires ravaged the Greek island of Corfu this week.

Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal

Thursday 27 July 2023 12:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wildfires have ravaged at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa this week, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.

Extreme heat and billowing winds have created the “perfect storm” for fires to rip through swathes of land in Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia.

In Rhodes, one of the worst affected Greek islands, more than 20,000 tourists and locals fled from the blaze in “the biggest evacuation” in Greece’s history.

The Greek Fire Brigade has been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks, but the service said the risk of fire remained “extreme” for several areas of Greece on Thursday.

Here we look at where the fires have struck this week:

Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal

Greece PM says climate change 'not an excuse' as wildfires burn

Thursday 27 July 2023 12:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday said Greece needed to take more steps to combat the effects of climate change as wildfires on the mainland burned farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals.

The fire brigade said more than 500 wildfires have burned across the country so far this year. While summer fires are common in Greece, scientists say higher temperatures and dryer weather are turning it into a Mediterranean hotspot for climate change.

Mitsotakis said Greece needed to reform its fire fighting and fire prevention policies and do more to alleviate the impact of climate change.

“The climate crisis may be a reality, but it cannot be an excuse,” he said during a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

“Our country ought to take more steps... to be ready to mitigate, as much as possible, the effects of a reality that we are already starting to feel, and that could have dramatic effects on many different aspects of our economic and social life,” he said.

Fires in Volos, Greece

Thursday 27 July 2023 12:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In Volos, Greece, the labour ministry urged employers in the area to suspend operations on Thursday. Drone footage above Volos showed the fire leaving behind a trail of destruction with charred trees and land covered in grey ash.

The fire in Kymi on the island of Evia, where two pilots were killed on Tuesday when their plane crashed into a hillside as it was dropping water onto the flames, was brought under control. Rekindlings in the north of Corfu island and near the town of Lamia, south of Volos, were tamed.

On Rhodes, where more than 20,000 foreign visitors and locals fled seaside hotels and homes over the weekend, teams were trying to put out a blaze in a hard-to-reach mountainous area on Thursday.

Drone images show swathes of scorched forest land from a mountain down to the coast.

Large areas of the Mediterranean have sweltered under an intense summer heatwave in recent days, and firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across the region, from Portugal to Sicily to Algeria.

‘It’s my house, I have to protect it,’ says resident in Rhodes town threatened by wildfires

Thursday 27 July 2023 13:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A resident in a hillside village in Rhodes threatened by wildfires in recent days has spoken of her relief that the blazes appeared to have been tamed, but fears tense days and difficult months may still lie ahead.

Eirini Kousoulini, who has run a restaurant in Malonas for five years, warned that tense moments still lie ahead as the volunteer firefighters who have toiled to quell the blazes in the hills above the village for nine nights must remain vigilant for any embers to reignite.

While the village was advised to evacuate in the small hours of Sunday, Irene remained at her house, which is located close to where the fires burned on the hillside.

“Its my house, I have to protect it,” said Eireni, who has lived in Rhodes for 25 years, and is originally from the island of Astypalaia, also in the Dodecanese.

“Everybody, everybody” is worried about the impact of the fires on tourism, she said. “All people in Rhodes work with tourists, everything is a chain. They work for six months and in the winter they don’t have work.”

The winter will be hard “for sure”, she added. “Because everything is very expensive – life, the supermarkets, electricity, everything … I have to work 18 hours here every day.”

Very high risk of fire for several regions in Greece on Friday

Thursday 27 July 2023 13:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

According to the Fire Risk Prediction Map issued by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection ( civilprotection . gov . gr ), for tomorrow Friday, July 28, 2023 , a very high risk of fire (risk category 4) is predicted for the following areas :

• Region of Attica

• Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia, PE Fthiotida)

• Peloponnese Region (Corinthia Region, Argolis Region)

• South Aegean Region (Kos, Kalymnos, Rhodes, Karpathos)

• North Aegean Region (Lesvos Region, Chios Region, Samos Region, Ikaria Region)

• Region of Crete (Heraklion PE, Lasithi PE)

Wildfires in Portugal: Is it safe to travel to Lisbon and Cascais right now?

Thursday 27 July 2023 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

As wildfires rage across Sicily and Greece, Portugal is the latest Mediterranean country to be hit.

A fire broke out on 26 July near the popular coastal holiday spot of Cascais, just 30km west of capital city Lisbon.

The blaze started at 5pm in part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, with strong winds fanning the flames and quickening the spread.

Local residents chipped in to help the hundreds of Portuguese firefighters sent to tackle the fires, with some attempting to protect their homes and villages with buckets of water and hosepipes.

“The fear now is that it will get to the houses,” local resident Ines Figueiredo told Reuters.

Is it safe to travel to Portugal right now?

July is the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years: ‘A foretaste of the future’

Thursday 27 July 2023 14:51 , Martha Mchardy

The warning lights have been on for weeks but now it is official: July 2023 is set to be the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years.

The record-breaking average global mean temperature - the overall reading if you could stick a thermometer at every location on Earth - was confirmed by scientists including at the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organization on Thursday, based on analysis of international climate and weather datasets.

“We are in absolutely new record territory,” Dr Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University whose separate analysis was first to confirm the new record, told a press briefing on Wednesday.

Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports:

July is the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years

UN chief warns ‘era of global boiling’ has arrived

Thursday 27 July 2023 15:02 , Martha Mchardy

U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that the era of global warming has ended and “the era of global boiling has arrived” after scientists said July was the world’s hottest month on record.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres told reporters. “It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and avoid the very worst of climate change. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”

Greek wildfires reach outskirts of Athens

Thursday 27 July 2023 15:20 , Martha Mchardy

Wildfires have reached the outskirts of Athens as strong gusts of wind cause flare-ups around Greece, disrupting motorway traffic and rail services.

Water-dropping helicopters and a ground crew were called early on Thursday to a blaze in Kifissia, just north of Athens, which was quickly put out.

Near the central city of Volos, a wildfire burned on two fronts, forcing a section of Greece’s busiest motorway to shut for several hours, while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.

Firefighters also battled flames on Rhodes for a 10th successive day, while flare-ups were reported on the island of Evia.

Red Cross in force in Rhodes as fires ease

Thursday 27 July 2023 15:50 , Martha Mchardy

The Red Cross has been operating in Rhodes since the fires began 10 days ago.

There are now 50 to 60 Red Cross staff operating across the island, a medic stationed at Gennadi told The Independent.

Initially, those comprised solely medics from Rhodes, who have been joined by others from Athens, Katerini, Kos and Patras.

While today had been calmer, Evangelos Efthymiou said that the team in Gennadi had treated people mostly only for light burns and other minor injuries.

World set to overshoot Paris warming target, says UN climate agency boss

Thursday 27 July 2023 16:21 , Martha Mchardy

The incoming head of the UN climate science agency said on Thursday the world would exceed the Paris deal warming target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, adding that states’ policies had not been ambitious enough.

In an interview a day after being voted the next head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Britain’s Jim Skea said the organisation was “committed” to “at least a little bit of overshoot” of the long-term threshold from the 2015 Paris deal.

“They (governments) have not put in place policies that are ambitious enough to allow the goals of the Paris agreement to be met. That is absolutely for sure,” he said via video link from Nairobi where he won a run-off against Brazil’s Thelma Krug.

“We are, I think, committed to at least some degree of overshoot...,” he said.

Ending fossil fuels for some sectors, like aviation and freight, was not realistic, he said, adding that this meant CO2 would need to be removed from the atmosphere in future.

Explosion heard at an ammunition facility during wildfire in central Greece - state broadcaster

Thursday 27 July 2023 16:23 , Martha Mchardy

Explosions were heard at an ammunition facility in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos in central Greece during a wildfire in the area on Thursday, state broadcaster ERT reported.

Citing unnamed sources, ERT said the ammunition depot belonged to the Greek air force.

In pictures: Wildfires wreak havoc across Rhodes

Thursday 27 July 2023 17:00 , Martha Mchardy

Rhodes holiday maker: Tui rep urged my family to ignore evacuation order

Thursday 27 July 2023 17:37 , Martha Mchardy

A father forced to flee a hotel with his family to escape the fire on Rhodes has said a Tui rep urged his family to ignore an evacuation order.

Ian Noble, 41, claimed the company “valued money over the safety of their guests” by urging them to ignore initial evacuation orders.

Mr Noble, an IT professional from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was staying at the Atlantica Dreams hotel with his wife, Rebecca, and their four-year-old daughter, Genevieve.

He was among the guests who received an alert from the Greek authorities on their mobile phones at 11am on Saturday ordering them to leave the area as the fire was spreading towards them.

Mr Noble said Tui reps and hotel management convinced them it was safer to remain where they were.

But at around 9pm that night there was “banging on the hotel room door and we were told ‘you need to run, go now’,” he told the PA news agency.

A Tui rep told them coaches would collect them from the resort’s main gates, but the hotel manager started “screaming” at them to begin walking towards a beach.

He claimed Tui “knew what was happening” in terms of the need to evacuate but convinced guests to remain at the hotel for several hours because the company thought “we still need to make some money” and “they valued money over the safety of their guests”.

A Tui spokeswoman said: “We understand how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who had to leave their hotels and curtail their holidays due to the wildfires in Rhodes.

“Our teams have worked round the clock to offer support and we brought in many additional reps to help assist as soon as the situation escalated.

“They’ve done their utmost in challenging and difficult situations, collaborating with the local authorities who managed the immediate evacuation.

“We relocated impacted customers in new hotels as soon as we could and have brought hundreds of people home.

“Many more travelled back to the UK on flights yesterday and today and our teams will be in touch with everyone who impacted on their return.”

Watch: Ice covers road in Germany as extreme weather hits country

Thursday 27 July 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy

One in four Britons think climate change is out of control, according to survey

Thursday 27 July 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

One in four people in the UK think the climate crisis is out of control, a new survey has revealed.

An Ipsos poll revealed two-thirds think we are already feeling the effects of climate change, while more than half think there is still time to deal with it.

Six out of 10 people polled also think the Conservative government is doing a bad job at dealing with the crisis, but less than three in 10 think Labour do a better job.

Dangerous US heat wave pushes eastward, capping globe's record July

Thursday 27 July 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy

An intensifying heat wave descended on the eastern United States on Thursday, prompting warnings about the dangers presented by the sweltering heat and humidity in the final days of a record-smashing July around the world.

Some 180 million Americans - about half the population of the United States - are under heat watches and warnings, with temperatures and heat index values well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) in the forecast until at least Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Officials in New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and other big cities urged people to avoid working or playing outside, to drink plenty of fluids and to check on loved ones and neighbors.

“The next four days will be extremely hot - take care of yourself and the people around you,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. The nation’s capital was expected to see the heat index, a measure of what the temperature feels like to the human body, reach 107 degrees F (41.7 C).

In Philadelphia, officials declared a health heat emergency until Saturday and created a phone help line for the elderly, opened cooling centers and increased homeless outreach.

Cooling centers have also been opened across New York City for those who do not have access to air conditioning. The heat index could reach 103 degrees F (39.4 C) on Friday in the most populous U.S. city.

“Heat is deadly, and climate change is making extreme heat more frequent and even more dangerous, especially for vulnerable New Yorkers,” New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.

Britons face ‘absolute nightmare’ trying to get refunds for Rhodes holidays

Thursday 27 July 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy

British tourists are struggling to get refunds for holidays to Rhodes after the island was hit by wildfires, with one woman describing her situation as an “absolute nightmare”.

Anita Madhas, 49, was scheduled to travel to Rhodes in early August with her 72-year-old mother in a group of around 20 friends and family, but they no longer wish to go to the island after their hotel, the Lindos Imperial, was partially damaged by fire.

Ms Madhas paid just over £1,000 for return flights for herself and her mother for August 3 to 13, which have not been cancelled.

She said: “That flight is scheduled to go out to Rhodes and I won’t get a refund. I only get a refund if that flight is cancelled.

“It’s just an absolute nightmare at the moment. I’m trying to get everybody to get some kind of transfer or refund, so that we can all rebook and go somewhere else.

“Even if we decided to change the hotel to a different destination on the island, there’s still no 100% guarantee that the hotel is going to be safe and our holiday is going to be what we expected it to be.”

Ryanair press office told the PA news agency: “Ryanair flights to/from Rhodes are currently operating as scheduled and remain unaffected by the forest fires.

“All passengers travelling from Tuesday 25 to Sunday 30 July inclusive to/from Rhodes can change their flight free of charge online via the website/app.”

Toursist face ‘uncertainty’ as holidays cancelled

Thursday 27 July 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy

Colin Spicer, 42, who had planned to travel to Rhodes with his wife and their two daughters, aged 11 and 15, said their hotel, the Rodos Princess Beach, had announced all reservations would be cancelled until the end of August.

He added that easyJet Holidays has not said if it will cancel or amend the package holiday.

Mr Spicer said easyJet has “not been very helpful at all given they’ve got quite a substantial amount of our money” for the family’s holiday, booked from August 22.

Addressing the company, he said: “Your hotelier is saying it’s not going to open, so you’ve got no option but to give that money back because you can’t fulfil the holiday to what we’ve booked.”

He said his family are hesitant to book another summer holiday while they wait for clarity from easyJet Holidays due to the “uncertainty” of whether they will be refunded.

The firm told PA: “EasyJet Holidays has cancelled package holidays to impacted resorts in the south of Rhodes departing up to and including 29 July and has proactively contacted impacted customers who are due to travel, and processed full refunds.

“We are also contacting customers due to travel to a small number of resorts that remain impacted in Rhodes up to 10 August to discuss their options.

“EasyJet continues to operate its flying schedule to Rhodes, however, we understand that some customers travelling to the affected area may want to change their plans.

“Customers who are booked to travel to or from Rhodes until 29 July can transfer for free to another date or can request a flight voucher for the value of their unused flights, by calling easyJet Customer Services.”

Watch: Good samaritan gives water to thirsty lizard after devastating wildfire in Turkey leaves forest in ashes

Thursday 27 July 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy

Wildfire triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot

Thursday 27 July 2023 20:37 , Martha Mchardy

A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.

The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.

No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.

Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.

The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site

The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.

“Despite their superhuman efforts, our forces were unable to stop the blaze,” he said.

He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.

The wildfire burned on three fronts and forced a section of Greece’s busiest highway to close for several hours while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.

State ERT television showed residents and visitors in the coastal village of Anchialos, close to the blast site, being evacuated by sea while others were leaving in cars and buses.

The mayor of the city of Volos, Achilleas Beos, appealed to all remaining village residents to obey the evacuation order, saying some 80% had left. The coastguard said dozens of residents were taken in small private boats to the city of Volos.

The Nea Anchialos air base is 12 miles from the city, where the blasts were heard loudly. The air force said that while the facility was not immediately threatened, some of the F-16 fighters based there were taking off for other air bases as a precaution.

Wildfires ‘will clearly happen again’ and travel industry plans ‘need overhaul’

Thursday 27 July 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

Wildfires in the Mediterranean will “clearly happen again” and the travel industry needs to “rework its plans”, it has been claimed.

Paul Charles, CEO of travel PR firm PC Agency, called for an overhaul of the Foreign Office travel advice system which left holidaymakers “confused and worried about losing their money”.

It comes after thousands of Britons have been rescued from fire-hit parts of the popular Greek holiday island Rhodes while others are having to cancel planned trips.

Jordan Reynolds reports:

Wildfires ‘will clearly happen again’ and travel industry plans ‘need overhaul’

Today in pictures

Thursday 27 July 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

‘Travel advice from the Foreign Office is not fit for purpose for climate change'

Thursday 27 July 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Paul Charles, CEO of travel PR firm PC Agency said: “Sadly we’re going to have to get used to more incidents like this – wildfires in the southern Mediterranean are going to become more common, so the travel industry needs to rework its plans for how to deal with this sort of thing.

“Consumers will want more reassurance in the future about the hotspot areas that will mean airlines and travel operators will need to have better plans in place for dealing with these sort of crisis and that might mean more flexible refund policies, it might mean putting more resources on the ground in a destination over the summer period so that they’re prepared.

“I do think the Foreign Office now needs to conduct a complete overhaul of its travel advice system.

“It failed the industry this week because the advice didn’t change and also consumers were caught between a rock and a hard place as they knew they would lose their money if they didn’t carry on with their booking and fly into the zones affected.

“There needs to be a complete overhaul of the Foreign Office travel advice system – what it’s for, how it changes and it needs to be in consultation with the industry.

“Either they create a whole new system or the Foreign Office doesn’t do travel advice and creates a new code of conduct for airlines and travel operators to follow.

“It’s left consumers confused and worried about losing their money.

“The travel advice from the Foreign Office is not fit for purpose for climate change.”

The Foreign Office has not advised Britons to avoid non-essential travel to the entire island, while some travel companies are continuing to fly holidaymakers to Rhodes as they claim the blazes are not affecting the whole island.

Human-induced climate crisis responsible for killer heatwaves sweeping planet, scientists say

Thursday 27 July 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy

Human-induced climate change is responsible for the historic heatwaves sweeping the planet from China to the United States, scientists have found.

The research conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), which was released on Tuesday, says the record-shattering heat in Europe and the US would have been almost “impossible” in a world without global heating.

The researchers, who analysed records in all three continents, said the likelihood of extreme heat in China, which recently recorded its highest-ever temperature at 52.2C, is now 50 times more likely due to the climate crisis.

Stuti Mishra reports:

Human-induced climate crisis responsible for killer heatwaves sweeping planet

Watch: Wildfires cause major explosions forcing reporter to flee live on air

Friday 28 July 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy

Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal

01:00 , Martha Mchardy

Wildfires have ravaged at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa this week, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.

Extreme heat and billowing winds have created the “perfect storm” for fires to rip through swathes of land in Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia.

In Rhodes, one of the worst affected Greek islands, more than 20,000 tourists and locals fled from the blaze in “the biggest evacuation” in Greece’s history.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:

Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal

UK’s 40C summer of 2022 ‘will seem cool’ as extreme weather events become frequent, Met Office warns

02:00 , Martha Mchardy

The sweltering 40C summer in Britain last year “will be considered cool” by the turn of the century, as extreme weather events become more frequent, the Met Office has warned.

In its annual State of the UK Climate report, the Met Office analysed 2022’s weather and warned temperatures higher than 40C, summer droughts, grassfires and downpours will increase in both frequency and severity.

A severe heatwave gripped the country last summer, as a new temperature record was set (40.3C) and numerous wildfires were reported across Britain.

Maanya Sachdeva reports:

UK’s 40C summer of 2022 ‘will seem cool’ as climate crisis worsens, Met Office warns

Wildfires in Portugal: Is it safe to travel to Lisbon and Cascais right now?

03:00 , Martha Mchardy

As wildfires rage across Sicily and Greece, Portugal is the latest Mediterranean country to be hit.

A fire broke out on 26 July near the popular coastal holiday spot of Cascais, just 30km west of capital city Lisbon.

The blaze started at 5pm in part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, with strong winds fanning the flames and quickening the spread.

Local residents chipped in to help the hundreds of Portuguese firefighters sent to tackle the fires, with some attempting to protect their homes and villages with buckets of water and hosepipes.

“The fear now is that it will get to the houses,” local resident Ines Figueiredo told Reuters.

Helen Coffey reports:

Is it safe to travel to Portugal right now?

Watch: No one can deny in impact of climate change anymore, says Biden

04:00 , Martha Mchardy

Climate crisis ‘not an excuse’ for wildfire damage, says Greek PM

04:17 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country needed to take more steps to combat the effects of the climate crisis as wildfires in the central part of the country flared up, forcing more evacuations.

The blazes across the country, which have been stoked by strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40C, killed two more people in central Greece on Wednesday, taking the death toll to five.

“The climate crisis may be a reality, but it cannot be an excuse,” the prime minister said yesterday.

He added: “Our country ought to take more steps ... to be ready to mitigate, as much as possible, the effects of a reality that we are already starting to feel, and that could have dramatic effects on many different aspects of our economic and social life.”

World is entering ‘era of global boiling’, UN warns

05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The warning lights have been on for weeks but now it is official: July 2023 is set to be the hottest month on record – and possibly in 120,000 years.

The new global mean temperature – the overall reading if you could stick a thermometer at every location on Earth – was confirmed by scientists at the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organisation.

Copernicus discovered that up to 23 July, Earth’s temperature averaged 16.95C, giving scientists enough data to declare a record before the month ends.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said on the findings.

“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

Louise Boyle reports.

World entering ‘era of global boiling’, UN warns as July is hottest month on record

Firefight continues for tenth night in Rhodes

05:30 , Andy Gregory

With firefighters and volunteers out trying to dampen the flames for the 10th consecutive night in Rhodes, The Independent visited scorched areas in the south where fires still smouldered on Thursday night.

Blackened ground and the charred remains of trees scarred the landscape for kilometres on end in the formerly lush hills near the village of Vati, stretching all the way to the coast at the devastated town of Kiotari – with the blaze having torn through much of this area in a single day.

Four Canadair firefighting jets flew in coordinated line across the forest, dousing the remaining flames further into the hills in large plumes of water from above, as volunteers tackled the blaze as best they could below.

Some cheers also went up in the car of volunteers with which The Independent travelled as a huge “Multi Jumbo Truck” – a Leopard battle tank converted into a fire engine – passed us heading towards Vati.

While the dozens of trained and civilian firefighters assembled at Vati’s Pelecanos Taverna remained vigilant to each new flare-up, there was hope that the fires could finally be coming to an end.

“Today is the first day we can smile,” one firefighter said, as he rested at the tavern between journeys.

Firefighters battle bush fires in Italy

06:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

In Italy, firefighters battled brush fires in the southern mainland regions of Calabria and Puglia, as well as the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, helped by temperatures dropping by about 13 degrees into the mid-30s C.

Flames forced the evacuation of bathers on a popular stretch of the southern Adriatic coast near the town of Ugento in Puglia, local media reported.

Since Sunday, firefighters have fought more than 3,200 wildfires in southern Italy, nearly half of them in Sicily and almost 900 of them in Puglia, Italy’s national firefighters corps said yesterday.

‘If not for the volunteers, all of Rhodes would be burnt’

06:20 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes

Stavros, a 48-year-old from the city of Rhodes who was going to fight the fires with his 18-year-old son, said he had been tackling the blazes near the hillside village of Vati for three days.

“It’s the 10th day, we are really tired, we want to finish this,” he told The Independent. “We go to [fight] the fire, then come back to eat, rest a little bit. The heat is unbelievable. It was many days of [temperatures in the high 30s].

“Many people here haven’t slept for three days in a row. There are young kids, 16, 17, 18 – this is unbelievable for us, because all of us were like one team. If we didn’t have all the volunteers, all of the island would have been burnt, that’s for sure.”

“After five days, they started to bring more airplanes, but it was [just] five in total. It wasn’t much for this fire – this is a huge fire, the biggest in all the years here. The last fire was in 1987, this is bigger than this.”

Describing having feared becoming trapped by the blazes yesterday, Stavros said: “The fire was really close to the village two days ago, and a fire started from the other side as well.

“We trust the people living in the villages, because the old people know the ways to leave. Yesterday when we were waiting for a big fire to come, we had a rescue plan,” he said.

When will heatwave in Europe end?

06:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Southern European countries suffering under a sizzling heatwave for weeks can finally hope for some respite as a new forecast reveals “subtle changes in the jet stream” that are expected to bring temperatures down.

With shattered temperature records, devastating wildfires in Greece and tragic loss of lives, people have been anxiously awaiting relief from intense heat conditions that gripped Europe this month.

The latest forecast from the UK’s Met Office offers a glimmer of hope as conditions are projected to shift slightly, indicating the weakening of the heat dome that enveloped the southern part of the continent.

Stuti Mishra reports.

When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight

Tragic ‘last words’ of hero pilots who died fighting wildfires

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The tragic last words of two heroic pilots who died fighting wildfires in Greece have been revealed, as blazes continue to rage across Europe.

Commander Christos Moulas, 34, and co-pilot Pericles Stefanidis, 27, were killed just before 3pm on Tuesday when their plane, which had been dropping water, crashed near the town of Karystos on the island of Evia near Athens.

A firefighter on the ground is believed to be the last person to speak with the pair, telling Greek broadcaster OPEN: “I still can’t believe that three minutes ago I was talking to them and after exactly 10 minutes I learned that the plane had crashed.

Tara Cobham has more.

Tragic 'last words' of hero pilots who died in plane crash fighting Greek wildfires

Is it safe to travel to Turkey?

07:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Turkey has joined other holiday destinations across Europe in being struck by wildfires while in the grip of high temperatures.

Mediterranean countries have seen days of flames, first seen on the Greek island of Rhodes but since spreading to Corfu, Sicily and parts of Portugal, France and the Canary Islands.

In Turkey, 10 planes, 22 helicopters and more than 200 vehicles have been deployed this week in the firefighting efforts in Kemer area, with some 120 hectares of woodland burned, tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters.

Before the extreme heat and wildfires affected Europe, the Foreign Office (FCDO) already had three travel warnings in place for Turkey.

Benjamin Parker has more.

Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Latest advice as wildfires spread across Europe

Blazing wildfire rips through southern Turkey

07:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Aerial footage shows raging wildfires ripping through Antalya, Turkey.

The video shows bright orange flames lighting up the night sky as aircraft pass overhead.

Antalya, known as Turkey’s “capital of tourism”, has been battling spreading wildfires as high temperatures have been felt across the region in recent days.

Volunteer firefighters in Rhodes lament animals lost to fire

08:02 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes

As well as their homes and livelihoods, civilian firefighters in Rhodes have been fighting to protect the animals with whom they share the island.

Among them is the Dama-Dama deer, a protected species unique to Rhodes, whom volunteers have been attempting either to rescue or to leave bowls of water and food visibly scattered strategically across the vast areas of scorched earth in the fire-ravaged parts of the island.

One volunteer firefighter , a 45-year-old named Pantelis Saroukos showed The Independent the area near Vati that he – along with many other beekeepers – had brought his hives each summer for the past five years due to the bountiful thyme growing there, until the plants were irrecoverably scorched by the wildfires.

While he had removed his hives before the fire could reach them, a fellow beekeeper several kilometres away near the village of Asklipio had not been so lucky – with the hives visibly licked by flames and a nearby storage shed left crumpled and warped.

“If I was this beekeeper, I would not bring my bees back here ever in my life,” said Pantelis, lamenting that it would take 25 to 30 years for the landscape to regrow, before adding: “Maybe his grandchildren can.”

Some minutes later, he mused: “Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was proud to say no lives were lost before the Canadair crash [near Athens this week].

“But I don’t know if someone told him about the deer, donkeys, tortoises – all the animals. Thousands of animals have been killed.”

Rishi Sunak’s net zero plans in doubt as key green pledges face being scrapped

08:31 , William Mata

The government’s plans to tackle the climate emergency have been thrown into turmoil as Rishi Sunak signalled he could delay or even abandon green policies that put financial pressure on families.

Downing Street has been forced to insist its pledge to reach net zero by 2050 “remains”, but the prime minister’s spokesperson said he is “making sure we listen to consumers and business” and will “continually scrutinise” plans such as the banning of new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030.

Read Archie Mitchell’s article here.

Picture shows rabbits and cat being rescued

08:40 , William Mata

A picture of a Greek firefighter rescuing two rabbits and a cat from wildfires is being shared across social media.

Details of the rescue could not be verified any further.

A Twitter user wrote: “Firefighter in Greece rescues two rabbits and a cat from the wildfires that are raging across the country right now.

“Men who rescue animals are the best men.”

Environmentalists fear response of leaders will not be enough

08:46 , William Mata

“Our world is burning before our eyes,” the WWF has tweeted.

“We're deeply saddened by the wildfires roaring through Rhodes.

“The window for action is getting smaller. Scientists now warn of a 66 per cent chance of passing the 1.5C limit in the next five years.”

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has hit out at what she feels is a lack of action by government leaders.

She tweeted: “This week, staggering cognitive dissonance has been on display. As wildfires rage, Govt is u-turning on climate policies - ULEZ, energy efficiency, EVs - not advancing them. Why won't political leaders take #climateemergency seriously?”

Tory MP stokes tensions with tweet

08:55 , William Mata

Conservative MP Jonny Mercer has been accused of playing down the role of climate change in the wildfires spreading across Europe.

The Tory representative for Plymouth Moor View posted a picture of his holiday and said the wildfires were started deliberately.

“It’s hot in Europe, but smashing the mountains with my bro...” he tweeted.

“All that behind me has been destroyed by wildfires started deliberately... brainless stuff. Still, the mountains remain.”

He was met with several responses calling him out for not mentioning the climate crisis.

“#ClimateBreakdown does not start fires but it does make them more likely and more devastating,” Peter Cracknell wrote.

“Oh great, a climate change denier,” Colin Toms wrote.

Aerial view of Rhodes

08:58 , William Mata

A drone's view of the devastation caused by wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes, as shared by Reuters.

Greek wildfires die down after burning for nearly two weeks

09:01 , Reuters

Wildfires in Greece abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks but emergency services worked to prevent new flare-ups in the central part of the country, where people had fled massive explosions at an ammunition depot the day before.

The blazes, fanned by rising temperatures and strong winds, have killed five people, destroyed homes, farms and factories and scorched swathes of forest land since July 17.

In the hard-hit area of Magnesia, wildfires reached an air force ammunition depot close to the coastal town of Nea Aghialos on Thursday. The blaze at the depot caused powerful explosions and the coast guard said people were forced to escape by land and sea to Volos, the regional capital.

Fighter jets stationed at a nearby military airport were moved as a precaution, a government official said.

The shockwave was felt miles away, causing glass windows of several shops to shatter, locals told Reuters.

“They’ve split open, they peeled off, the panels have fallen, they are split open, only metal is left, the ironwork,” said Dina Angeli, a local resident in Nea Aghialos.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday he had ordered an investigation into the incident.

Firefighters praised for “super human” effort

09:07 , Reuters

Firefighters made a “superhuman effort” but failed to tame the rekindling blazes in the wider area of Volos and in Aghialos, fire brigade spokesperson Ioannis Artopoios said.

Dozens of firefighters worked in the area, assisted by five aircraft and a helicopter, as strong winds could cause new flare-ups, the fire brigade said.

The labour ministry urged employers in an industrial zone of Volos to suspend operations for a second day on Friday.

On the island of Rhodes, where more than 20,000 tourists and locals fled seaside hotels and houses over the weekend, wildfires have died down after scorching about 10% of the island’s acreage. But teams operated at several sites for an 11th day in an effort to fully tame all the fronts.

Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that Greece needed to take more steps to combat the effects of climate change, stressing the need to improve fire prevention further.

‘A brief thread of key quotes from experts'

09:19 , William Mata

Climate change journalist Dave Vetter has shared some quotes about the wildfires and their cause and spread.

He described this as a “brief thread of key quotes” from experts on Twitter.

Here are some of those he has picked up.

Prof Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Science, Imperial College London: "The combination of heat, wind and people in the Mediterranean is mortal. There have always been wildfires in the South but climate change is making them larger, faster, and harder to stop ... "

Dr Thomas Smith, Associate Professor in Environmental Geography, London School of Economics and Political Science: "Human-driven climate change is increasing the likelihood and intensity of heatwaves. This is the second major heatwave in the Mediterranean this year ... "

Prof Stefan Doerr, Editor-in-Chief International Journal of Wildland Fire; and Director of the Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University: “Focussing mainly on ignition sources (there will always be some) distracts from the main issues ... "

‘It’s more than just humans that suffer in this crisis’

09:35 , William Mata

Mike Hudema tweeted footage from Spain where a thirsty deer was seen being given water in the middle of a burning forest.

He wrote:

“Heartbreaking. Firefighters in Spain rescue and give water to a thirsty deer in the middle of a burning forest during last years wildfires. Now more are burning. “

“It's more than just humans that suffer in this crisis. #ActOnClimate”

Suspected arsonist caught on film

09:53 , William Mata

A video has been shared on social media of what has been said to be an arsonist lighting a fire in Calabria in Italy.

It is understood that Italian authorities are looking into the matter.

This link was shared by Spectator Index.

From yesterday: Wildfires cause major explosions forcing reporter to flee live on air

10:23 , William Mata

Pictures: Wildfires felt around Europe and into Asia

10:26 , William Mata

Exclusion zone set up around Greek military base after wildfires trigger powerful explosions

10:48 , AP

Authorities are maintaining an exclusion zone around an air force base in central Greece where wildfires have triggered powerful explosions at an ammunition depot.

The blasts late Thursday at the 111th Combat Wing base facilities — among the largest in the country — shattered windows in nearby towns and prompted an evacuation of more than 2,000 people, while fighter jets nearby were moved to another base.

A civilian traffic ban and evacuation order remained in effect in a 3-kilometer (2-mile) radius of the blast site.

Fueled by successive heat waves and strong gusts of wind, wildfires have raged around Greece and other Mediterranean countries over the past two weeks, scorching dozens of square kilometers of land outside Athens, on the island of Rhodes and elsewhere.

The ammunition depot blasts were broadcast live on local television reports, near the central city of Volos, one showing a ground-shaking fireball emerging from a mountainous area.

After the evacuations were ordered, residents were rushed onto private boats mobilized by the coast guard and taken to a conference center in Volos, some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the weapons depot.

A drop in temperatures and calmer winds assisted firefighters early Friday, and all major fires were contained at midday

Earth ‘needs a world climate organisation like the WHO’ - scientist says

11:03 , PA

Countries should band together and form a world climate crisis organisation akin to the World Health Organisation (WHO), to steer humanity through the unfolding disasters associated with the heating planet, one of the UK’s leading climate scientists has said.

Sir David King, former UK chief scientific adviser and chairman of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, said it is now “almost certain” that the global average temperature will rise to at least 2C above pre-industrial levels, which scientists have warned could lead to further irreversible heating.

At 1.2C the Earth is already experiencing severe heatwaves, wildfires, storms, sea-level rise and species decline, with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres saying: “The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.”

This is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution and has led to a build up of greenhouse gases - mainly carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour - in the atmosphere.

Smoke billows from wildfire burning close to homes in Lecce

11:11 , Independent

Bold action needed to counter ‘significant threat’ says expert

11:15 , PA

Extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, increased spread of disease and loss of food means climate change poses “a significant threat to human health around the world”.

That is according to Sir David King, former UK chief scientific adviser and chairman of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.

The expert has said there needs a united global effort to contain.

He told the PA news agency: "In terms of a health crisis, such as the Covid crisis, we have a World Health Organisation and it's based in Geneva and is part of the United Nations. We don't have a world climate crisis organisation.

"That's what we need, so that all countries of the world could come together through a body of this kind, as we do when there's a health crisis, we all contribute to the cost of the WHO.

"We need a global system that pulls us all together to battle with this external threat to our manageable future."

Sir David has proposed a planning strategy of four Rs to deal with the climate crisis.

Rapid emissions cuts through reducing fossil fuel use and deforestation by five times the current rate; removing carbon from the atmosphere with new technology; repairing, or refreezing, the Arctic so that more solar energy is reflected off white ice instead of absorbed by dark waters; and resilience - adapting to the degree of change that is now inevitable.

He said reducing demand for high-carbon industries like flying is the only realistic way to immediately bring emissions down in the absence of sustainable technology, but the UK Government is failing to do this, despite recommendations to do so from the Climate Change Committee.

The climate scientist said: "This is the first Government that has done this. Until 2017, Governments of all colours followed this policy very closely but we've seen that really being ignored now.

"That is pure expediency and I feel that we're being badly let down by leadership."

When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight for countries fighting wildfires

11:30 , William Mata

Southern European countries suffering under a sizzling heatwave for weeks can finally hope for some respite as a new forecast reveals “subtle changes in the jet stream” that are expected to bring temperatures down.

With shattered temperature records, devastating wildfires in Greece and tragic loss of lives, people have been anxiously awaiting relief from intense heat conditions that gripped Europe this month.

The latest forecast from the UK’s Met Office offers a glimmer of hope as conditions are projected to shift slightly, indicating the weakening of the heat dome that enveloped the southern part of the continent.

Read this link to find out more.

Video: Suspected arsonist caught starting wildfires in Italy by police drone

11:45 , William Mata

Labour MP calls for “war footing” against climate crisis

12:00 , William Mata / PA

Labour MP Barry Gardiner has said the UK should be on a “war footing” against the climate crisis.

Speaking to BBC’s Newsnight on Thursday, he said: “If this were a war, we wouldn’t be arguing whether the Labour strategy or the Tory strategy were better, we’d be working together to try and win.

“Well it is a war, it’s a war for survival, and climate change threatens everything.

“It threatens our food security through drought, desertification, it threatens our homes and our cities through floods and coastal inundation.

“What we need to be doing is saying, let’s get together, let’s mobilise on a war footing.”

Tourists permitted to return to accomodation

12:07 , William Mata

Greece’s climate ministry has said tourists and residents have been permitted to return to their accomodation in several areas of Rhodes which have been hit by wildfires.

Kiotari, Vati and Gennadi are all among the locations where holidaymakers can now move back to following the blaze.

It was reported earlier on Friday that the wildfires are dying down.

The climate ministry has also deemed Malona, Charaki, Massari, Asklipio, Lachania, and Plimmyri to be safe.

Wildfires in Greece abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks.

Emergency services are working to prevent new flare-ups in the central part of the country, where people had fled massive explosions at an ammunition depot the day before.

Other Mediterranean countries are also struck by extreme heat and deadly wildfires.

12:18 , AFP

As tens of thousands flee from fires in Greece that have killed at least three people, other Mediterranean countries are also struck by extreme heat and deadly wildfires.

Regions classified as being at high risk of fire

12:27 , William Mata

Greek authorities have listed six regions which are at a "very high fire risk" despite the flames being less substantial than in previous days.

Wildfires abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks.

Areas on the high alert are now: Attica, Central Greece, Peloponnese region, North Aegean, South Aegean, including Rhodes, and Crete.

However, no areas are now listed as being in “extreme danger”.

‘Drop in temperatures and calmer winds’ eases the pressure

12:52 , AP/ William Mata

A drop in temperatures and calmer winds has assisted firefighters in their efforts on Friday.

In Greece, all major fires were contained at midday, Fire Service officials said.

Conditions also improved elsewhere in the Mediterranean, thanks to cooler weather after days of high heat, allowing firefighters to contain wildfires along the Croatian coast and in Sicily.

Vassilis Kikilias, the Greek minister for climate change and civil protection, said fires had burned 400 sq. kilometers (155 sq. miles) of land in July alone, while the recent average is 500 sq. kilometers (nearly 200 sq. miles) in a year.

"Is the situation any better in other countries bordering the Mediterranean? It's a fair question ... but the answer is no," Mr Kikilias said.

"The climate crisis that brought us this unprecedented heat wave is here. It's not a theory. It is our actual experience," he said. "This is not something that will just occur this year. It will last and we have to face the consequences of what that means."

Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal

13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wildfires have ravaged at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa this week, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.

Extreme heat and billowing winds have created the “perfect storm” for fires to rip through swathes of land in Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia.

See the full story here.

Full story: Arsonist caught on camera in Italy

13:30 , Oliver Browning

Authorities in Italy have released drone footage said to show a suspected arsonist in action in the Calabria region, as firefighters continue to battle wildfires across the south.

Searing temperatures have scorched Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, where dozens of fires have broken out and multiple evacuations have been ordered.

The president of the Calabria region, Roberto Occhiuto, vowed to take action against such arsonists, adding that 22 suspected arsonists had been caught via drone surveillance last year.

In the footage he released, the suspect can be seen in a woodland area, before throwing rocks at the drone.

Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Latest Foreign Office advice as wildfires spread across Europe

14:00 , Benjamin Parker

Turkey has joined other holiday destinations across Europe in being struck by wildfires while in the grip of high temperatures.

Mediterranean countries have seen days of flames, first seen on the Greek island of Rhodes but since spreading to Corfu, Sicily and parts of Portugal, France and the Canary Islands.

Read the full story here.

‘River flowing to the sea’: Water cascades down Scarborough town centre as month of rain falls in a day

14:08 , Lucy Leeson

A seaside town centre high street resembled a river when a month’s worth of rain fell in just one day.

This footage, filmed by The Scarborough Joke and Magic Shop, shows water cascade down Eastborough in the Yorkshire seaside town on Thursday.

Cars can be seen to aquaplaning down the road, with water cascading down. Shoppers are also seen taking cover under umberellas and in the shops. One resident said: “It looks like a river flowing to the sea.”

It happened following heavy downpours across large swathes of northern England on Thursday with some places seeing around 50mm.

Video shows water planes tackling fire in Italy

14:35 , William Mata

Two Canadair water planes have been sent to tackle a blaze that has started in woodland in northern Italy, near the French border.

It follows a fire breaking out in Puglia on Thursday which was filmed by the local fire brigade.

A pollution tax on older cars can be extended to London's suburbs after a British court ruling

14:48 , AP

A British court ruled Friday against London suburbs that tried to block a pollution tax on older cars as green policies become a hot political issue in the U.K. amid increasingly dramatic impacts of global climate change.

The High Court ruled that Mayor Sadiq Khan had the authority to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, which charges drivers of older gas and diesel vehicles 12.50 pounds ($16) a day they operate, to the city's outskirts next month.

Five conservative councils challenged Mr Khan's right to impose the measure. They criticized the expansion to an area where there are fewer public transport options and people are more reliant on cars, and because of a disproportionate impact on lower-income drivers who can't afford newer, cleaner cars.

The dust-up over how to control emissions comes as July is on target to be the hottest month in recorded human history and the effects of a warming planet can be seen in catastrophic wildfires, flooding and alarming ocean temperatures. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week declared: "The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived."

Moment police rescue children from raging storm at camp site in northern Spain

15:00 , Lucy Leeson

This is the moment police rescued 64 people, 40 of which were children, from a camp site during a raging storm in northern Spain.

The group were rescued from the site in the Sarvise area of Spain, which has been hit by heavy rain. Vehicles have been stranded by torrents of muddy water, while streets in nearby areas have been flooded.

The Guardia Civil shared footage of the rescue on its Twitter page and said: “The @GuardiaCivil of #Torla has evacuated 64 people, 40 of them minors, from a camp affected by strong storms in the area of #Sarvise .”

No G20 consensus on emissions mitigation targets at talks

15:24 , William Mata

Climate talks between representatives of the Group of 20 countries (G20) have failed to reach a consensus on emission reduction and mitigation targets, an Indian official said on the last day of the discussions on Friday.

Developed countries in the group demanded mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025 and a reduction of absolute GHG emissions by 43% by 2030, all in a bid to contain global warming and stave off even worse heatwaves, wildfires and floods.

Both demands were opposed by developing countries, the official, who did not want to be named, said.

The developing countries said the overall mitigation targets - aimed at cutting or eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, or removing them from the atmosphere - would limit their ability to develop infrastructure and grow, the official said.

They wanted the bloc to stick to the 2015 Paris Agreement that allowed different countries to tackle global warming in different ways depending on their circumstances, the official added.

Weather forecast: Europe this weekend

15:22 , William Mata

The weather forecast for European wildfire hotspots has shown that heat will continue over the weekend but there will not be scorching temperatures.

There have been highs of 40C but the weekend is set to being temperatures of just over the 30C barrier.

Greek island Rhodes will see highs of 32 and 33C on Saturday and Sunday respectively, according to BBC weather.

In Italy, Puglia will see a peak of 38C on Sunday while Sardinia will see only 32C.

Southern France will likely not see the heat it had experiences while the BBC estimates Seville will be one of the warmer Spanish cities at 39C on Sunday.

As crews contain Europe fires, Pope Francis sounds alarm on climate threat to 'our common home'

15:45 , AP

Pope Francis urged governments to do more to fight climate change and protect "our common home" as improving weather conditions Friday helped firefighters contain wildfires in Greece, Italy and other countries in southern Europe.

Francis, who has been outspoken on environmental issues, sent a telegram of condolences to Greece, where wildfires killed five people over the past week, including the pilots of a water-dropping aircraft.

The pope noted that successive heat waves have exacerbated the dangers of the summer fire season. He offered his prayers for firefighters and emergency personnel in particular.

"(I hope) that the risks to our common home, exacerbated by the present climate crisis, will spur all people to renew their efforts to care for the gift of creation, for the sake of future generations," Francis said.

German health minister attempts to address social media post furore

15:58 , William Mata

In Germany, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach sought to address Italian irritation over a mid-July social media post in which he described the heatwave he encountered on a visit to Italy as “spectacular” and added that “if it goes on like this, these vacation destinations will have no future in the long term”.

Mr Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin that he was not warning against vacations in southern Europe and plans to visit Italy again himself.

“Of course, it is more difficult now for the southern countries to organise heat protection in such a way that it is also accessible for every tourist, but I think those countries will know exactly what they have to do,” he said.

Greek minister said fires have burned 155sq miles of land

16:30 , William Mata / PA

Vassilis Kikilias, the Greek minister for climate change and civil protection, has said fires had burned 155 square miles of land in the country in July alone, while the recent average is nearly 200 square miles in a year.

"Is the situation any better in other countries bordering the Mediterranean? It's a fair question ... but the answer is no," Mr Kikilias said.

"The climate crisis that brought us this unprecedented heatwave is here. It's not a theory. It is our actual experience," he said. "This is not something that will just occur this year. It will last and we have to face the consequences of what that means."

Round up: Drop in temperatures helps firefighters get a handle.

17:00 , William Mata

A drop in temperatures and calmer winds helped firefighters get a handle on the blazes in Greece and all major fires were contained by midday Friday, Greek Fire Service officials said.

Conditions also improved elsewhere in Europe’s Mediterranean regions thanks to cooler temperatures, allowing firefighters to contain wildfires along the Croatian coast and in Sicily.

Firefighting teams in Turkey also brought a wildfire burning close to the southern Mediterranean resort of Kemer under control, four days after it erupted, Ibrahim Yumakli, the country’s forestry minister, said.

The governments of the countries hit by heatwaves and fires have steered public debate away from the potential impact on tourism.

Rhodes, where a fire last weekend required about 19,000 people to be evacuated from several locations on the island, was promised state support on Friday for its international advertising campaign.

Round-up: Fires keep travellers and residents on alert in Greece

17:30 , PA

Fuelled by the heatwaves and strong gusts of wind, wildfires in Europe's Mediterranean region have kept travellers and residents on alert. In Greece, fires scorched hundreds of square miles of land outside Athens, on the island of Rhodes and elsewhere this month.

In central Greece, authorities maintained an exclusion zone around one of the country's largest air force bases after a wildfire triggered powerful explosions at a nearby ammunition depot on Thursday. Fighter jets stationed at the 111th Combat Wing base were moved to other facilities.

The depot blasts near the central city of Volos shattered windows in nearby towns and prompted an evacuation of more than 2,000 people. Local news broadcasts showed a ground-shaking fireball emerging from a mountainous area.

Residents were rushed on to private boats mobilised by the coast guard and taken to a conference centre in Volos, 12 miles from the weapons storage site. A civilian traffic ban and evacuation order remained in effect on Friday within a two-mile radius of the depot.

Ancient 2,000-year-old Roman ship found off Italy coast

18:00 , Chris Stevenson / William Mata

Also in Italy, the wreck of an ancient Roman cargo ship believed to be more than 2,000 years old has been found off the coast of Italy.

The ship was located off the port of Civitavecchia, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) northwest of the Italian capital, on a sandy seabed at a depth of about 160 metres (525 ft). It was discovered by the arts squad of Italy's Carabinieri police – who are tasked with protecting Italy's cultural heritage.

The full report is here.

Where are the wildfires?

18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wildfires have ravaged at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa this week, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.

Extreme heat and billowing winds have created the “perfect storm” for fires to rip through swathes of land in Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia.

The blazes have killed five people in Greece as they destroyed homes, farms, and factories and scorched swathes of forest land since July 17.

See the full story here.

Pictures: Wildfires in Europe - July 28

19:00 , William Mata

19:16 , Katy Clifton

Thanks for following our live updates, we are pausing our blog for the evening.

You can check out more about Europe’s heatwave here.