Italian cities on red alert over extreme temperatures
Rome, Venice and 19 other Italian cities are under a red alert for high temperatures this weekend, as temperatures also soared across the Balkans, triggering heatwave health warnings.
In Croatia, the capital Zagreb and the country's east were at the highest risk of heat, according to the national Meteorological and Hydrological Service.
Authorities remained on high alert after forest fires over the weekend destroyed dozens of homes on the country's tourism-oriented southern coast.
Albania said its firefighters managed to control eight blazes in the past 24 hours.
Meteorologists in Bosnia warned people to stay indoors as parts of the country were predicted to climb to 41C.
"Be ready to suspend outdoor activities and prepared for high temperatures that will lead to health risks among vulnerable people, like the elderly and very young," Bosnia's meteorological institute said.
This is the first of at least three heatwaves expected during the June-August period in Bosnia, said Bakir Krajinovic from the country's Federal Hydro-Meteorological Institute.
Temperatures so far this month have already exceeded forecasts, and predictions for July and August indicate temperatures will be four to five degrees above average, Mr Krajinovic said.
It was also the driest June on record in Bosnia, with the lowest rainfall since measurements began 135 years ago.
Mr Krajinovic said climate change was driving "more intense" weather events and breaking records "more often".
Parts of Serbia are predicted to climb to 39C, also significantly above seasonal average, according to Serbia's National Hydrometeorological Service.
The heat is expected to ease today, with temperatures slightly dropping over the weekend, before climbing again next week, according to weather forecasts for several Balkan nations.
Meanwhile, Greek firefighters said that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands.
The fire around Athens broke out yesterday near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50km east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists.
Though it was under control, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said.
A spokesman for the fire service said that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari.
Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze.
The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios -- Greece's fifth-largest island -- which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares of land in four days.
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