Europe burns as hell-like heat hits record highs

A POLICEMAN carries a toddler to safety in Greece as scorching heat of up to 46C sparks raging wildfires across southern Europe.

- Chris Riches

Thousands fled their homes yesterday as areas near Athens, the Canary Islands and even a mountainside in Switzerland turned into a wall of flames. It came as record temperatures were set in Rome, and Catalonia in Spain.

Similar extreme conditions were seen in the US, Japan and China. But, despite a warning from the Foreign Office, sunshine-mad Britons took temperatures in their stride as they hit the beach in Spain's Benidorm.

Meanwhile, experts say the mercury will climb even higher later this week and into the weekend. The Foreign Office has warned UK holidaymakers to take care in the heat when they jet abroad.

Europe's hottest spot yesterday was Sicily, where brutal temperatures hit 46.3C. But it is feared the Charon heatwave from North Africa named after hell's ferryman could surpass Europe's record of 48.8C set on Sicily in August 2021.

The searing heatwave moved in after last weekend's Cerberus weather front, which was named after the ancient Greek three-headed hell hound.

Italians were warned to prepare for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time".