Greek authorities order work breaks as temperatures soar past 40C
The Labour Ministry ordered the work stoppage, from midday to 5pm, for outdoor manual labour and food delivery services, primarily in central Greece and on several islands.
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Employers were also asked to offer remote work options.
A tourist with an umbrella walks outside the Acropolis of Athens (Petros Giannakouris/AP)
No emergency measures were implemented in Athens, and the current hot spell — following sweltering temperatures across Europe — is not considered unusual.
Greek authorities say they are taking long-term steps to address the effects of climate change, including the deployment this summer of a record number of firefighters.
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Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Marseille wildfires shut airport and force thousands to flee
A wildfire has reached the French city of Marseille, causing the airport to close and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. Benoît Payan, the city's mayor, demanded a mini lockdown to make room for emergency workers to tackle the blaze, as fierce winds whipped up the flames. Residents on the city's outskirts have been ordered to stay at home, shut their doors and bring down shutters to protect themselves. Mr Payan wrote on social media: 'I ask all the people of Marseille to be extremely vigilant and to limit their movements as much as possible to make room for relief, especially in the north of the city. 'The people of Marseille in the 16th arrondissement are invited to remain confined.' An emergency message broadcast to mobile phones in the area added: 'Forest fire in Marseille. Leave the forest immediately. Confine yourself in a hard building. Close shutters and doors.' The wildfire, which broke out north of the coastal city, has already spread across 350 hectares, according to local firefighters, who have warned the weather conditions are 'extremely unfavourable'. 'It's very striking - apocalyptic even,' said Monique Baillard, a resident of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, a town north of Marseille. A local bank worker reached by phone told the Reuters news agency: 'The sky is grey with ash, and the smell of fire is very strong in the centre of Marseille.' The 44 mph winds driving the blaze towards the city are not expected to weaken until at least 11pm local time. The fire was caused by a car that caught fire on the motorway near Marseille on Tuesday morning. Within two hours, it had spread across 30 hectares. Large plumes of smoke could be seen from the port city's marina as the fire approached it from at least two directions. Train traffic in and out of Marseille has been impacted as the flames came within touching distance of tracks in the northern part of the city. Helicopters, fire engines and 168 firefighters have been drafted in to tackle the blaze near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, on the northern edge of Marseille. More than 560 emergency workers have been made available to join the efforts in the coming hours. Official Christian Pouget described the blaze as one of the most ferocious in the last 10 years, and at 4pm local time said it was still not under control. The impacted Bouches-du-Rhône region has not recorded a single drop of rain since May 19. The southern port town is France's second most populated city with a population of 870,000 and is incredibly popular with visiting tourists in the summer months. Locals have been urged to remain at home or to stay in buildings, as the authorities want to avoid a repeat of an incident in 2017 which saw dozens of people killed on the roads while trying to flee wildfires in Portugal. Lieutenant-Colonel Frédéric Harrault, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, said: 'We must remember the tragedy that Portugal experienced in 2017. That summer, more than 60 people died, most trapped by the flames while driving to leave the mountain area on which the fire was progressing.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Marseille wildfire live: Flames 'at gates' of city could continue to grow - as strong winds make it 'difficult to control'
Are you affected? Get in touch We'll bring you all the latest as we get it on the developing fire in the Marseille area of southern France. But if you have information or pictures to share with us, get in touch. You can comment using the form at the top of this page, or get in touch via WhatsApp here. By sending us your video footage, photographs or audio, you agree we can publish, broadcast and edit the material. Main objective is to 'defend Marseille', local official says - as more firefighters deployed After announcing that the fire has now spread to 700 hectares (see 16.24 post), we can bring you more from Georges-Francois Leclerc, prefect of Bouches-du-Rhone. He said the situation is "not frozen but under control". The main objective is now to "defend Marseille", he added. Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan told French broadcaster BFMTV that around 720 firefighters are battling the blaze, with more than 220 fire service vehicles deployed. 'Very difficult to control' fire started by car on side of motorway, local president says "This fire started when a car caught fire on the side of the motorway," according to Martine Vassal, president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence area. "Given the strength of the wind, it jumped the highway and from then on, it was very difficult to control." Vassal insisted it was "too early to say" if the fire was caused by arson or an accident, but added that an investigation has been opened. In pictures: Smoke engulfs areas around Marseille It's a fast moving situation in and around Marseille but the scale of this fire is becoming clearer. Images on social media, via the Reuters news agency, show enormous clouds of smoke engulfing areas around the city. Emergency alert issued to hundreds of phones after wildfire broke out Local media are reporting that an emergency message was sent to hundreds of phones in the area after the fire broke out. "Avoid this area. Allow the security and emergency services to pass. Do not block emergency numbers," the message said. Some homes have been evacuated, while emergency services are urging people not to travel unless they have clear instructions to do so. Marseille fire has burned 700 hectares - with winds expected throughout evening French authorities say the fire has already burned 700 hectares. More than 10 buildings have burned, but no fatalities have been recorded in the Marseille area. Emergency services have reported to broadcaster France 3 that the weather conditions are looking extremely unfavourable. According to reports, gale-force winds have been fanning the flames with gusts reaching as high as 70mph. Winds are not expected to weaken before 11pm local time tonight. Train services suspended after fire near tracks Flights aren't the only mode of transport impacted by the wildfire closing in on Marseille. Trains have also been affected, with Zou! rail service suspending its services in both directions between Marseille and Miramas. That's after a fire near the tracks at L'Estaque. Watch: 168 firefighters deployed to fight blaze The local fire service says 168 firefighters have been deployed to fight the blaze. They're mainly focusing near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, northwest of Marseille, with French broadcaster BFMTV reporting that the fire has already covered 350 hectares. Huge plumes of smoke can be seen billowing into the sky in the video below. Flights being diverted after airport closed Flights to and from Marseille Provence Airport have been suspended due to the wildfire raging close to the southern French city. Local media have been reporting that flights have been diverted to other nearby airports like Nice following the outbreak of the fire. Passengers impacted have been told to contact their airline. Mayor urges Marseille residents to 'limit their movements' We can bring you more from Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan, who has urged residents to be "extremely vigilant". "The violent fire declared in Pennes-Mirabeau is now at the gates of Marseille," he wrote on X. "I ask all Marseillais to be extremely vigilant and to limit their movements as much as possible to make way for emergency services, particularly in the north of the city."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Marseille airport cancels all flights as wildfire encroaches on city
A fast-moving wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has forced Marseille airport to cancel all flights and was encroaching on France's second-largest city, officials said, as firefighters around the Mediterranean battled blazes sparked by an intense heatwave. The prefecture of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur region issued an alert on Tuesday urging inhabitants of Marseille's 16th arrondissement to stay indoors, close doors and shutters and hang wet laundry around openings to avoid the risk of smoke inhalation. Roads should be kept clear for emergency services, the prefecture said. Marseille city hall said the fire was spreading, adding: 'Avoid all outdoor activities and do not block emergency access routes. Follow instructions and alert messages.' Marseille airport said it had suspended all flights at about midday, shortly after the blaze erupted outside the nearby town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau. Local media reported the cause appeared to have been a vehicle that caught fire on the A552 motorway. Departures to Brussels, Munich and Naples were cancelled, with incoming flights diverted to nearby airports, including Nice and Nimes. Marseille is France's second largest regional airport, handling nearly 11 million passengers last year. Marseille city hall just said 720 firefighters were battling the blaze with 220 emergency vehicles, helped by helicopters and water-bombing planes. About 350 hectares of land had been consumed by late afternoon. There were no immediate reports of casualties but the mayor of Les Pennes-Mirabeau said two housing estates had been evacuated and firefighters were preparing to fight off approaching flames near a retirement home. A spokesperson at the mayor's office for Marseille's 15th and 16th arrondissements, closest to the fire, said the outer limits of the city were clearly threatened and covered in thick smoke. Authorities were awaiting possible instructions to evacuate. 'It's very striking – apocalyptic even,' Monique Baillard, a resident of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, told Reuters, adding that many of her neighbours had left. Another resident, Jacqueline Revilla, said: 'The smoke is very striking, very acrid.' Fanned by a 70km/h wind, the fire could be smelled in the centre of Marseille and video showed large plumes of smoke billowing over the city outskirts. Three southern French departments, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse, are on red fire alert. Many of the region's forests have been closed and barbecues and cigarettes banned near wooded areas. About 4,000 fires start each year in France, about 90% caused by human activity. Negligently causing a wildfire carries a jail term of up to 10 years. About 250km west of Marseille, a wildfire that started near the city of Narbonne was still active on Tuesday after burning through about 2,000 hectares of forest, forcing the partial closure of the A9 motorway and dozens of evacuations. Fuelled by 60km/h winds, the blaze was 'still not under control. It is a fire that has spread very quickly,' the prefect of Aude department, Christian Pouget, said. More than 1,000 firefighters had been deployed, five of whom had been slightly injured. 'We know we're going to have a difficult afternoon, with firefighters exhausted' after working through the night, Christophe Magny, the Aude department fire chief, said on Tuesday afternoon, adding that there was still a 'high risk of spread'. In Spain, firefighters in the north-east of the country continued to battle a wildfire in the Catalan province of Tarragona that has burned through more than 3,100 hectares of forest, farm and urban land, and confined 18,000 people indoors. Winds of up to 90km/h were complicating the efforts of about 100 troops from Spain's military emergencies unit and 300 regional firefighters to combat the fire, which broke out in the municipality on Sunday. 'Although we expected strong winds, we were surprised by just how strong they were,' said David Borrell, the regional fire department chief. 'We've been working all night in a very precarious, very difficult way Experts have warned of a high risk of forest fires this year after heavy spring rains prompted a vegetation growth spurt. High temperatures have now made vegetation dry and brittle: last month the Andalucían province of Huelva registered a record 46C. Syria on Tuesday appealed for help from the EU in battling wildfires that have been blazing for six days, sweeping through a vast expanse of forest. Neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist. The UN's office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Syria said the fires had affected about 5,000 people and 60 communities, destroying 100 sq km of forest and farmland – more than 3% of Syria's forest cover. Rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance were making it difficult to combat the fire effectively, the minister for emergencies and disaster management, Raed al-Saleh, said. In Greece, authorities in Athens shut the Acropolis, the city's most visited ancient site, from 1-5pm local time as temperatures soared to 38C. The ruins are on a rocky hillside that offers little shade.
