”Warning for extreme maximum temperature”, it says at the top of Cyprus' weather agency's website. The temperature on the Mediterranean island is expected to rise to 40 degrees during the weekend.
Similarly on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal's weather service warns that it can reach up to 43 degrees in some places. In Spain's capital Madrid 38.
And similarly, it is in several other places in southern Europe. France's weather agency, Météo France, warns of ”very high temperatures” around the Mediterranean and emphasizes that it is dangerous, even for people in good health.
Warm in the water
Italy's health department issued a red weather warning on Friday for the weekend in several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice – where Amazon founder and space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos gets married during the weekend.
Just in time for the vacation, the summer heat has taken hold of the southern parts of Europe. In fact, the entire Mediterranean is warm. Data from the EU's weather service Copernicus shows that parts of the turquoise sea's surface temperature were more than five degrees warmer than usual at this time of year already last week.
Due to the heat, the UK's Foreign Office has issued a warning to Britons against traveling to, among other places, Spain and Turkey due to the ongoing heat wave.
Risk of fires
On Friday, people were evacuated from five Greek villages, five miles east of the capital Athens, after a forest fire, reports the news agency AFP. The fire is said, however, by the rescue service to be under control.
As a result of the high temperatures and dry landscape, Greek authorities have issued a warning of a risk of fire in forests and land. People are urged to be vigilant and avoid activities that could trigger fires.
