Four more Romanians have died from a heatwave gripping parts of south-east Europe, health officials said on Tuesday, raising the region's death toll from the past few days to at least 30. All four were elderly people who died of breathing or heart problems brought on by the heat, the health ministry said.
In western Turkey, a 60-year-old man collapsed on a beach and later died in hospital as temperatures there hit 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit).
Turkey's western regions reduced working hours for state officials and authorities urged the elderly and children to stay at home, out of the heat. In Greece, where the scorching weather has killed five people in the past two days, air conditioning systems working flat out pushed energy consumption towards an all-time high, and state offices closed early at noon to conserve power supplies.
Temperatures soared to 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country on Monday, and authorities expected the heatwave to continue for at least another three days, making this Greece's hottest June ever.
With memories of a 1987 heatwave that killed hundreds, health officials said unnecessary travel should be avoided. "We have 100 ambulances stationed and on full alert in the capital," emergency services chief Nikos Papaefstathiou said. "We have more emergency calls today than in the past days but we are urging people to call only if they are in real need."
In Romania, where temperatures on Tuesday hit 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), high schools scheduled athletics exams in early morning or evening to avoid the midday heat.
BUSH FIRES AND FLOODS: In southern Italy, where temperatures were also above 40 Celsius, brush fires broke out. In Palermo, a black-out caused by heavy use of air conditioning systems forced a court hearing to be adjourned. It also knocked out traffic lights in deserted streets.
About 150 people have been admitted to hospital over three days in Turkey's Mugla province, popular with tourists. Its governor told people to avoid the sun between 10 am and 4 pm.
By contrast, northern England struggled to cope with the aftermath of severe flooding, caused by torrential rain, which killed a 68-year-old man and a teenager in Sheffield and a man in his 20s in Hull. About 250 people were moved from their homes near Rotherham after cracks appeared in the Ulley Dam.
South-eastern Europe was already suffering a drought, even before the latest heatwave. And in Ukraine, the government has imposed stringent limits on grain exports for three months in an attempt to keep down bread prices.
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