At least nine countries across the Mediterranean have been hit by wildfires, as thousands of firefighters battled to extinguish blazes across the region.
At least 34 people have been killed in Algeria, while three have been killed in Italy’s southern island of Sicily.
Temperatures topping 40C (104F) and parched ground have sparked fires in countries on both sides of the Mediterranean.
Greece has been hit particularly hard, with over 20,000 evacuated in recent days from homes and resorts in the south of the holiday island Rhodes, while Corfu has also been hit by severe blazes.
Two firefighting pilots died when their plane crashed into a hillside on the island of Evia, east of Athens.
Several people have been arrested or fined across Greece in recent days for accidentally starting fires.
Read more:
Briton escapes ‘scene from Dante’s inferno’
In pictures: Terror of the Greece wildfires
British family spend night on school floor
Holiday booked to Greece? Your rights as wildfires rage
Locals try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Gennadi village on Rhodes. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Wildfires on Italy’s southern island of Sicily have killed three elderly people, its regional president said.
In Croatia, flames came within 12km (7.5 miles) of the medieval town of Dubrovnik late on Tuesday, with local media reporting landmines left over from the 1990s war of independence had been detonated by the fire.
Dozens of firefighters were using aircraft to battle a wildfire that had broken out close to Nice international airport in southern France.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Wildfires in Algeria kill at least 34
Meanwhile, in north Africa, Algeria was fighting to contain devastating forest fires along its coast in a blaze which has already killed at least 34.
Fires fanned by strong winds also closed the closure of two border crossings in neighbouring Tunisia.
People inspect burnt vehicles after raging wildfires in Algeria. Pic: AP
Wildfires also broke out in the countryside around Syria’s port city of Latakia, with the authorities using army helicopters to try to put them out.
Authorities evacuated a dozen homes and a hospital in Turkey as a precaution on Tuesday after a wildfire raged through a rugged forest near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer in Antalya province.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Impact of Mediterranean wildfires over 24 hours
Away from the Mediterranean, fires also swept across Portugal and Spain’s Gran Canaria.
Greek PM says his country is on frontline against climate change
EU officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires across Europe, noting 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country was one of those on the frontline against climate change.
“I will state the obvious: in the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism, if there was we would have implemented it,” Mr Mitsotakis said.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
Heatwave described as ‘silent killer’
Scientists have described extreme heat as a “silent killer” particularly affecting the poor, elderly and those with existing medical conditions.
Research published this month said as many as 61,000 people may have died in Europe’s sweltering heatwaves last summer. It suggested preparedness efforts are falling fatally short.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
