Article from BBC:
More die as Europe heatwave bites
Greek villages bordering forest land have been worst hit by fires. Two more people have died in Greece amid soaring summer temperatures that have brought forest fires and power outages to South-East Europe. The worst blazes in Greece were reported near Aegio in the south, on the island of Cephallonia and near the border with Macedonia and Albania. Large swathes of forest have also been burnt in Bulgaria, Italy and Macedonia.
Hundreds of deaths have been blamed on the extreme heat, which is due to give way to cooler weather by the weekend.
The temperature has already eased in Hungary, where some 500 people are estimated to have died as a result of the heatwave. In Greece, hundreds of people have been evacuated from areas at risk from fires in the Peloponnese and on the holiday island of Cephallonia.
At least two people died after being trapped in fires on Wednesday. One of the biggest blazes, near the southern town of Aegio, destroyed homes in at least eight villages and forced the temporary closure of the highway linking Athens to the port of Patras.
Meanwhile in northern Europe, the UK has seen unseasonably heavy rainfall and severe flooding.
South-East Europe's heat and the UK's wet weather have both been blamed on changes in the jet stream - a seasonal band of air from the Atlantic that has taken a more southerly path across Europe this year.
'Many fires on many fronts' Greece's electricity grid has been close to breaking point as demand has soared. Searing temperatures have also evaporated rivers used to create hydro-electric power.
The authorities have urged people to limit their use of air conditioners to avoid putting a strain on electricity supplies. "We ask for citizens' understanding," Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas told the Associated Press news agency. "Only with their co-operation can we cope with extreme weather conditions that have not appeared in our country for decades." Greece is battling forest fires in several areas. "We're facing an extremely difficult situation - many fires on many fronts in many parts of the country," fire service spokesman Yiannis Stamoulis told the Associated Press.
2 comments:
Baby, it's been raining for days here in Singapore - in July! Go figure.
And one other thought - if more people listened to the French Gojira the situation might possibly be better. Get inspired, save the earth! Growwwwwwl! ;)
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