Tourists bemoaned the temporary closing of the Acropolis in Athens on Friday as Greek authorities shut the world monument’s gates between midday and early evening amid a heat wave that continues to grip southern Europe.
Red Cross staff handed out bottled water to tourists wilting in long lines hoping to beat the closure and scale the steps up to the gleaming Parthenon temple as temperatures were expected to peak above 40C (104F) in the Greek capital.
Some visitors were frustrated at being left in the lurch because they were unaware of Greek authorities’ last-minute announcement of the Acropolis’ closure at noon. One visitor said he was disappointed at losing the chance and that it would be unlikely he would come back any time soon.
“I even bought a 50 Euro ticket to skip the line to enter and I couldn’t enter the place,” the man, who didn’t give his name, told The Associated Press.
Red Cross coordinator Ioanna Fotopoulou said paramedics on hand administered first aid to a number of tourists exhibiting symptoms of dehydration and experiencing fainting spells.
In Spain, people packed the beaches as the country enjoyed a short-lived respite from its second heatwave of the summer.
Temperatures were still expected to reach 40C in at least 12 of Spain’s 17 regions Friday, although lower from a high of 45C that scorched the southeastern town of Albox on Wednesday.
Forecasters said Europe’s all-time temperature record could be broken in the coming days as sizzling Spain, Italy and Greece face a second blistering hot spell.
Mediterranean Europe is already in the grips of Cerberus heatwave, which is forecast to send temperatures in the region as high as 45C over the weekend.
Several countries have prepared emergency measures with cities in Greece changing public sector working hours and opening up air-conditioned areas to the public.
Television adverts in Italy have been reminding city residents to look after their pets and check in regularly with elderly relatives.
In Lodi, south-east of Milan, a road sign worker collapsed and later died as temperatures surpassed 40C, with officials attributing his death to the extreme conditions.
The high-pressure system affecting the region, which crossed the Mediterranean from north Africa, has been named Cerberus after the three-headed dog in ancient Greek mythology who guarded the gates to the underworld.
A second heatwave, called Charon, is set to pass into southern Europe next week - sending temperatures even higher.
The European Space Agency said much of the continent was facing a “major” heatwave.
“Temperatures [are] expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia - potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe” the agency said.
Animals in Madrid’s Zoo were being treated this week to frozen food to cool off amid the sweltering heat. Zookeepers fed pandas and bears with watermelon popsicles, seals with frozen sardines and lions with frozen buckets of meat.
In North Macedonia, the high heat triggered a spike in emergency calls for health assistance.
Authorities in Cyprus urged the Mediterranean island’s residents to avoid forest areas where wildfires could be caused unintentionally.
Meanwhile, emergency services in nearby Turkey grappled with simultaneous fires and floods. Flooding in the northern Black Sea coast claimed three lives. In the southwest Milas region, 26 water-dropping planes and helicopters helped 600 firefighters contain a wildfire. “While there are heat and fires on one side of the country, there are floods and deluges on the other,” Turkish Deputy Agriculture Minister Veysel Tiryaki said. “In our country as well as around the world, we are struggling with climate change.”
While southern Europe swelters, the UK is facing a cool and unsettled weekend as the jet stream brings low pressure systems from the Atlantic.
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for the capital on Saturday with high winds posing a threat to train services and flights, with temperatures unlikely to climb much above 20C.
