Storms kill 45 in Brazil, Mediterranean, Europe

Storms have killed at least 14 people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, with a Greek region hit by more rain in 24 hours than it normally sees in a year, officials said on Wednesday, while an extratropical cyclone in southern Brazil caused floods in several cities, killing at least 31 people and leaving more than 1,600 homeless.

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A period of extreme heat has given way to heavy storms, turning streets in northwestern Turkey into rivers and hitting Greece with unprecedented downpours as it recovers from weeks of wildfires.

As the world warms, the atmosphere contains more water vapour which increases the risk of heavy precipitation in some parts of the world, notably in Asia, Western Europe and Latin America.

Greece's central Magnesia region got rainfall of 24-31 inches over a 24-hour period including Tuesday, a government meteorologist told reporters in Athens.

The storm, dubbed "Daniel" by Greek weather experts, has been battering the country since Monday, mainly affecting the Magnesia region and its capital city Volos, 300 kilometres north of Athens.