And that is where we will leave our live coverage of Thursday’s extreme weather across Europe. Thanks for following along.
Here are the main headlines:
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The UK recorded its hottest day of the year so far as temperatures reached 38.1C in London’s Kew Gardens (14.24). A former chief scientific adviser to the UK government warned this summer’s “shattering” heat was only a sign of things to come (11:54).
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Several homes caught alight and two people received treatment as firefighters battled a grassfire in England’s West Midlands (18.39).
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Temperatures exceeded 40C elsewhere in Europe. France’s heatwave reached a 17th day, marking the third-longest period of extreme temperatures ever recorded in the country (12.35).
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In Greece, a fleet of small boats evacuated more than 250 tourists and locals from the resort village of Siviri, in the country’s north, as a large wildfire bore down on homes and holiday villas. Many were still wearing bathing costumes (19:41).
We are getting more updates from Siviri, the seaside town in northern Greece where firefighters are battling a large wildfire.
A fleet of 15 boats evacuated more than 250 tourists from the beach, local public television reported.
AFP reported many evacuees were still wearing bathing costumes. Some were carrying children.
Images broadcast on local TV showed dozens of people queueing on a pontoon waiting to flee – as smoke blotted out the sky over the resorts.
“We are on the beach and looking for a way to get away,” Sophia, a homeowner in the region who only gave her first name, told AFP by phone.
Firefighters said strong winds, which were forecast to reach up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour, made tackling the blaze difficult.
Wildfires are not unusual in Greece this time of year, but the risk is increasing as climate breakdown fuels droughts and prolonged extreme weather.
Of the 40 forest fires reported across Greece in the last 24 hours, nine were still not controlled by late Thursday.
Footage from Sky News shows several homes on fire in England’s West Midlands as firefighters tackle a large grassfire near a golfcourse in Stourbridge.
Stourbridge town hall has been set up as a rest centre for those fleeing their homes.
“Transport is also being arranged for those who can’t make their own way,” West Midlands fire service said in a social media post.
“If you must drive, take extra care if you are driving, avoid areas of dense smoke, and please don’t head to areas where fires are taking place to watch.”
About 60 firefighters were on scene, the service said.
There was no immediate information on injuries or damage to property.
The Met Office has released a few more details about what is now (provisionally) the UK’s fifth hottest day on record.
Earlier (16.24) we reported a provisional reading of 38.1C at Kew Gardens, which would make this the hottest day of the year so far.
The mercury also reached 38C in Pershore, Worcestershire. A total of 40 locations across central and southern England recorded temperatures of 36C or higher, the Met Office said.
“This current spell of extreme heat is the latest in a remarkable summer,” said chief forecaster Neil Armstrong.
Temperatures will stay above 20C in London overnight, which the Met Office officially classifies as a “tropical night”.
Friday will be slightly cooler, although still forecast to reach highs of 34C in the south-east. Weekend temperatures will remain in the 30s before a gradual return to average next week, Armstrong said.
Famous for its pine forests and turquoise water, the Chalkidiki peninsula is teeming with tourists this time of year.
Now, many have been forced to flee the peninsula by land and sea.
Videos seen by Reuters showed people boarding dinghies and fire brigade boats in Siviri as the blaze ate through nearby forest and smoke enveloped the sky.
More than 140 firefighters, nine aircraft and seven helicopters were deployed to battle flames raging on both sides of the main road, the local fire brigade said in a statement.
One firefighter was injured, Reuters reported.
“Our effort is focused on extinguishing the fire and the safe transport of people,” fire brigade spokesperson Giannis Artopios told Protothema news portal.
Two fire boats, private boats and the coastguard were involved in the evacuation, he said.
We now have some pictures coming through of that wildfire in northern Greece, which Greek media have reported as being out of control (16.20).
These pictures are from Siviri, a coastal holiday town south of Thessaloniki.
Good afternoon. I’m Angus Thomson, taking over from Jakub Krupa.
Over in France, temperatures are nearing 40C in large parts of the country.
It is currently 39C in Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse and Le Mans.
Paris is only a shade cooler at 37C.
French broadcaster BFM is reporting temperatures have exceeded 42C in two towns in western France.
France recorded its hottest day on record in June, with temperatures reaching 44C in Pissos, in the country’s south-west.
As we reported earlier (12.35), the current heatwave is now the third longest period of extreme temperatures ever recorded in France.
Temperatures are, however, expected to ease over the weekend, Météo-France said.
There it is: the Met Office has just confirmed that it recorded a provisional reading of 38.1C at Kew Gardens, making it the hottest day of the year so far.
It’s the second time we reached 38C this year, it said, with the only other year where this has happened twice in 2022.
It is also the fifth hottest day on record ever, Met Office says.
The previous 2026 record of 38C was recorded on 28 June.
in Athens
As feared (16:05), gale force winds are fuelling a massive fire in Chalkidiki in northern Greece where flames have ripped through homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of holiday makers from beaches.
Officials said 15 boats had removed tourists and locals from the sandy shores of Siviri on the Kassandra peninsular in Chalkidiki as a precautionary measure.
Greek media reported the fire as being out of control with fire fighters, forest commandos and an array of water- dumping aircraft trying to tame the flames.
Blazes, whipped by winds, were also raging in the Peloponnese and other parts of Greece with the civil protection minister Evangelos Tournas describing the weather conditions as “extreme.”
Vast swathes of Greece have been branded high fire risk and ‘red code’ on Friday when the gusts, already exceeding 100 km an hour, are expected to peak.
Here is a summary of where we are at 4pm UK time (5pm CEST):
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Charlwood and Pershore have provisionally reached 37.8C as large parts of England face another day of extreme temperatures during the fifth heatwave of the summer (16:34).
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37.0C was also reported in Kew Gardens, west London.
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Earlier today, a rare amber warning for extreme heat has been expanded to cover more of England, including parts in the north west of the country (13:01).
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A former chief scientific adviser to the UK government has warned that the “shattering” heat was only a sign of things to come, with calls to accelerate climate adaptation policies (11:54).
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High temperatures were also reported in France and Spain, amid concerns about the heat’s potential impact on wildfires recently reported in both countries (13:35, 15:52).
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Greece was also on high alert for wildfires amid gale-force winds (16:11).
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Overall, more than 135 million Europeans were expected to experience temperatures of 35C and above today (11:27).
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
