Italy, Balkans latest in Europe to feel brunt of record-breaking heat wave

italian republic and the balkan mountains matte up the wallop on mon of a record-breaking heat wave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across the continent for more than a week, with growing concerns over the ‌spread of wildfires.

In Italy, 22 cities from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily were covered on Monday by a red heat warning.

Pilgrims at the Vatican used ​fans to cool themselves and sheltered under umbrellas for shade as Pope Leo delivered his Angelus message from a balcony to ⁠the crowd below on the Feast of Saints ⁠Peter and Paul, a holiday in the city of Rome.

In ‌Croatia, the weather service issued a red alert on Monday for regions including the capital Zagreb and the tourist destinations of Split and Dubrovnik.

Dozens of firefighters, assisted by four aircraft, battled a wildfire burning pine forests on the tourist island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, some 55 kilometres southwest of Split.

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In neighboring Serbia, the State Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) has warned temperatures would reach 39 C on Monday.

Further ⁠south, Albania contained a wildfire that has consumed many hectares of bushes and olive trees near the southern village of Klos over the weekend.

For Western Europe, where temperatures have dipped from record June highs, ​there was also a warning that the heat was likely to build again next week.

The heat wave, which began on June 20, set records for early summer and the blistering conditions disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed health-care systems. France has reported 1,000 excess deaths blamed on the heat wave.

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The French ‌public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people and warned the number was expected to rise.

French media reported that funeral homes in Paris and the surrounding area were overwhelmed by the number of bodies they had to deal with.

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The heat wave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, which has made this week's soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according ​to scientists.

Daniele Mocio, a meteorologist with the Italian Air Force, said the heat wave was expected to persist for a few more days in central and eastern Europe, with temperatures running 8 C to 10 C above average. Any relief farther west in Europe was likely to be short-lived.

Luca Mercalli, the president of Italy's Meteorological Society, said temperatures were set to soar ⁠again from July 5 or 6.

"The areas affected look broadly the same as in the first wave, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and to some ⁠extent Britain," ⁠Mercalli told Reuters.

"With the extreme heat the risk of forest ​fires increases, but we are also seeing a lot of rainstorms, which obviously mitigates that risk," he added, noting that storms were very localized so rainfall amounts could vary ​greatly.

Further tragedies related to the heat were reported ⁠at the weekend.

Two boys, aged 8 and 10, from Bulgaria were found dead in a hot car in Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, police said. Cyprus is currently experiencing temperatures of around 38 C, which is not classified as a heat wave on the east Mediterranean island for the time of year.

Two cyclists, a 30-year-old and a 71-year-old, died while taking part in an event in the Poland Bike Marathon series in Marki near Warsaw on Sunday.

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