European Union rushes firefighters to Greece as grueling Mediterranean heat wave takes toll

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Local residents returned to their gutted homes in the town of Mandra, west of Athens, Wednesday, after wildfires swept through the area, forcing them to evacuate. (JUL 19)

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A man on a motorcycle looks on as a shipyard which is on fire in Mandra west of Athens, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. In Greece, where a second heatwave is expected to hit Thursday, three large wildfires burned outside Athens for a second day. Thousands of people evacuated from coastal areas south of the capital returned to their homes Tuesday when a fire finally receded after they spent the night on beaches, hotels and public facilities. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

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A damaged house is seen inside a burnt forrest in Mandra, west of Athens, Greece, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Wildfire evacuations have continued for a third day outside the Greek Capital as a second heat wave hit the Mediterranean country from the west after days of record-high temperatures baked southern Europe. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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A damaged house is seen in a burnt forrest in Mandra, west of Athens, Greece, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Wildfire evacuations have continued for a third day outside the Greek Capital as a second heat wave hit the Mediterranean country from the west after days of record-high temperatures baked southern Europe. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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A man checks his burnt house after yesterday’s fire in Mandra west of Athens, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires swept across hills in the searing heat outside the Greek capital on Tuesday, forcing authorities to close highways to help protect an oil refinery. Water-dropping airplanes and helicopters flew low though a blanket of smoke tinted orange by the sunset to try and contain two wildfires to the west of Athens before nightfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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Burnt cars and houses after yesterday’s fire in Mandra, west of Athens, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires swept across hills in the searing heat outside the Greek capital on Tuesday, forcing authorities to close highways to help protect an oil refinery. Water-dropping airplanes and helicopters flew low though a blanket of smoke tinted orange by the sunset to try and contain two wildfires to the west of Athens before nightfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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A man stands by a burnt house after yesterday’s fire in Mandra west of Athens, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires swept across hills in the searing heat outside the Greek capital on Tuesday, forcing authorities to close highways to help protect an oil refinery. Water-dropping airplanes and helicopters flew low though a blanket of smoke tinted orange by the sunset to try and contain two wildfires to the west of Athens before nightfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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Tourists try to cool off by a water fan outside the ancient Colosseum, in Rome, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Temperatures in much of southern Europe have kept above 40 degrees Celsius, or about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

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CORRECTS TO ARCH OF TITUS NOT ARCH OF CONSTANTINE An ambulance is parked by the ancient Arch of Titus as tourists walk by, in Rome, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Temperatures in much of southern Europe have kept above 40 degrees Celsius, or about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

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An ambulance is parked by the ancient Roman Forum as tourists walk by, in Rome, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Temperatures in much of southern Europe have kept above 40 degrees Celsius, or about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

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Italy’s Giulio Ciccone, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, rides in the breakaway group during the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 166 kilometers (103 miles) with start in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and finish in Courchevel, France, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

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Sant’Egidio Catholic group volunteer Michela Tassani, left, chats with 98-year-old Armando Frajegari in his home, in Rome, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. As an intense heat wave with temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius in many Italian cities is forcing elderly and fragile people to stay in their homes, Sant’Egidio volunteers check up on them providing company and helping in daily routines such as food shopping. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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People enjoy fresh air on a hill above Grenoble, French Alps, Wednesday, July 19, 2023 as temperatures are expected to rise up to 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

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People take shelter in the shadow on a tree in the park of the Vizille’s castle, near Grenoble, French Alps, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Temperatures are expected to rise up to 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

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A man cool off in a fountain during a hot and sunny day of summer in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat with forecasts calling for peak temperatures of 43 C (109 F) in areas along the Ebro River in the northeast and on the island of Mallorca. Spain is also dealing with a prolonged drought that has increased concerns about the risk of wildfires. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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People rest during a hot and sunny day of summer in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat with forecasts calling for peak temperatures of 43 C (109 F) in areas along the Ebro River in the northeast and on the island of Mallorca. Spain is also dealing with a prolonged drought that has increased concerns about the risk of wildfires. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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A man rests during a hot and sunny day of summer in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat with forecasts calling for peak temperatures of 43 C (109 F) in areas along the Ebro River in the northeast and on the island of Mallorca. Spain is also dealing with a prolonged drought that has increased concerns about the risk of wildfires. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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People check the damage after a powerful storm, in Zagreb, Croatia, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. A powerful storm with strong winds and heavy rain hit Croatia and Slovenia on Wednesday, killing at least four people and injuring several others, police and local media outlets said. (AP Photo)

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People queue to enter the Royal Palace during a hot and sunny day of summer in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Most of Spain is under alert for high to extreme heat with forecasts calling for peak temperatures of 43 C (109 F) in areas along the Ebro River in the northeast and on the island of Mallorca. Spain is also dealing with a prolonged drought that has increased concerns about the risk of wildfires. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

By DEREK GATOPOULOS, NICOLE WINFIELD and DAVID BRUNAT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Firefighting aircraft and ground crews from other countries headed to Greece on Thursday to help battle wildfires that have intensified as a heat wave baked much of southern Europe in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

New evacuations were ordered Wednesday as wildfires raged near Athens. In a round-the-clock battle to preserve forests, industrial facilities and vacation homes, evacuations continued for a third day Thursday along a highway connecting the capital to the southern city of Corinth.

In the town of Mandra, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Athens, resident Varvara Paraskevopoulou said the flames reached her doorstep before the Fire Service personnel did. She described fleeing the fire Tuesday and then returning to help residents trying to protect their properties themselves.

“We extinguished what we could by ourselves and managed to save some homes. As you’ll see further up, three or four houses – residences and storage spaces – were burnt completely,” Paraskevopoulou said.

Firefighting teams from Poland, Romania and Slovakia were due in Greece on Thursday, and Israel pledged to send two firefighting planes, adding to the four from Italy and France that were already operating outside Athens.

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Southern Europe’s second heat wave in as many weeks has brought extreme temperatures to Mediterranean countries. Temperatures in southern Greece were expected to reach 44 C (111 F) by the end of the week.

Alessandro Miani, president of the Italian Society of Environmental Doctors, warned that the aging populations in Italy and other countries are a concern because heat-related deaths most commonly happen in people older than 80.

“The excessive heat together with humidity can make difficult for sweat to evaporate, interfering with the body’s ability to regulate its own temperature,” Miani said.

The heat in Rome eased only slightly after a sweltering 42-43 C (107-109 F) on Tuesday, while highs in Sicily and Sardinia reached 46 C (114 F). Parts of Spain were as high as 45 C (113 F) on Wednesday.

Amador Cortes, a resident in the southern Spanish city of Jaen, said people were doing their best to avoid the sun during midday hours and the early afternoon.

“The truth is, they take shelter at home with the air conditioning, with the fan. In the street, the elderly suffer a lot. Anyway, we have to put up with it,” he said.

In the southern Turkish city of Adana, a group of residents handed out desserts in the street, and many paid tribute to the U.S. engineer Willis Carrier, who invented the air conditioner in 1902.

“The people of Adana really need air conditioners. God bless him for making such an invention,” city resident Mehmet Saygin told Turkey’s DHA news agency.

The latest heat wave added to concerns about climate change. The World Meteorological Organization said preliminary global figures showed last month was the hottest June on record.

“The extreme weather, an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate, is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said Wednesday.

“This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”

The firefighters were being sent to Greece as part of a European Union civil protection mechanism that includes the planned deployment of international crews to parts of southern Europe over the summer.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of climate change at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment

___ Winfield reported from Rome and Brunat from Barcelona, Spain. Reporters from around Europe contributed to this report.

DAVID BRUNAT

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