ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A heat wave Heavy rains across southern Europe forced Greek authorities to close the Acropolis for several hours on Wednesday, and two firefighters were killed battling a blaze in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, Italian authorities said.
Italy added Palermo in Sicily to a list of 13 cities on a heat alert, while elderly residents in the city of Verona were urged to stay indoors and sprinklers were installed to help cool passersby.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture ordered the closure of the Acropolis, the country’s biggest cultural attraction, for five hours from midday.
Tourists waiting to visit the Parthenon temple at the top of the Acropolis queued up early in the morning to beat the scorching heat, and the Red Cross handed out chilled bottles of water and information leaflets to those waiting in line.
“We were done and we were out and we were going to sit in the air conditioned room and have a drink and enjoy the day,” said Toby Dunlap, a visitor from Pennsylvania who had just toured the Acropolis. “But it’s really hot up there. You have to come prepared or you’ll sweat.”
Meteorologists said the hot air from Africa was expected to continue until Sunday, with temperatures during the heatwave expected to reach a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit).
In Albania, the heat prompted the government to change working hours for civil servants to make it easier for some employees to work from home. Dozens of wildfires have broken out in neighboring North Macedonia in the past 24 hours. Large blazes have spread nearly 30 kilometers (21 miles). Firefighting aircraft from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania and Turkey have responded to the country’s call for help.
In western Turkey, firefighters, aided by a dozen water cannons, managed to put out a wildfire near the town of Bergama hours after it started. The cause of the blaze, which was spread by strong winds, was not immediately clear.
Authorities in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, issued a heatwave warning on Tuesday, saying temperatures were expected to rise 3-6 degrees Celsius (37-43 degrees Celsius) above the seasonal average until July 28.
Several Spanish cities, including Granada and Toledo, are bracing for temperatures expected to soar to as much as 44C (111F) in the hottest parts of the south of the country later this week.
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Barry reported from Milan, Italy. Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Athens, Greece, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Konstantin Testrides in Skopje, North Macedonia, Susan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey and Lazar Semini in Amsterdam contributed to this report.
