Europe remains on alert amid ongoing heat waves, wildfire threats

Since April, record-breaking temperatures continue to intensifies fires across parts of Europe.

At least 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) of land was razed to the ground in the city of Limassol, Greek Cypriot Administration on Thursday, destroying dozens of homes and forcing the evacuation of communities, authorities said.

Some fires in the region were still active as of Thursday, while two people were found dead in a burned-out vehicle.

A large fire also broke out near the southern Greek city of Corinth earlier this week, forcing the evacuation of several villages.

Other parts of Europe are still on alert as wildfire threats continue with ongoing heat waves.

Countries such as France, Italy and Poland have taken some public measures in a bid to tackle extreme temperatures.

In Marseille, France, municipal authorities ordered public swimming pools be free of charge, while schools closed in some cities. Italy imposed outdoor work bans in 13 regions during peak heat hours.

In Türkiye, hundreds of wildfires have broken out this summer, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Greece, meanwhile, closed the Acropolis as temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius.

According to the European Forest Fires Information System, a total of 237,153 hectares have burnt since the beginning of the year with 1,250 fires detected so far. The number of fires was 861 last year.

Scientists estimated around 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during the severe heat wave between June 12 and July 2.