Greece is experiencing a heat wave. Athens does not allow tourists to enter the Acropolis and workers are given holidays

Hot weather also plagued Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, with daytime temperatures hovering around 36 degrees and high humidity. Heat warnings were again issued across much of Italy, where two firefighters died today while battling a fire in a field.

The Acropolis is closed from 12 noon to 5 pm. Temperatures in the Greek capital have climbed into the 40s in recent days, with higher temperatures expected in parts of the country.

On Tuesday, Greece’s labor ministry issued a directive requiring companies not to force employees who work outside to work from noon to 5 p.m. until Friday. Temperatures are expected to reach 42 to 43 degrees in parts of Greece this week.

Istanbul City Hall also recommends avoiding going out from 10 am to 4 pm this week and not forgetting to drink plenty of water. Even in Turkey, the temperature in many places is around 40 degrees, and in the coming days it will remain a few degrees higher than normal for this time of year. In Istanbul, high humidity is also worsening the situation, making it difficult for many people to breathe.

Italy also suffers from high temperatures

The heat has also affected much of Italy, with four deaths reported over the weekend, according to ANSA, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees in the south of the country and on the islands.

In Rome, as in more than a dozen Italian cities, the highest warning for the consequences of the heat is in force. For example, the Ministry of Health has issued a red alert for Florence, Palermo, Bologna, Ancona, Perugia and Trieste.

The high temperatures have further exacerbated an already dire water supply situation in Sicily. The AMAP water company, which is responsible for the water supply to Palermo and the surrounding area, said today that residents of the Sicilian metropolis must prepare for a reduction in water supply starting Monday. The area is home to more than a million people. The company will announce detailed information in the coming days. However, water shortages are also evident on the other side of the island, around Catania, Rai News reported.

Two firefighters died today while battling a fire in a field near the city of Matera in southern Italy. “They wanted to save a family whose house was threatened by fire,” said Antonello Mele, mayor of the affected city of Nova Siri. Several firefighters were also injured in Greece today while responding to a massive fire in the Peloponnese, although the situation there is improving according to reports tonight. The fire also disrupted traffic at one of the main border crossings between Greece and North Macedonia for several hours, according to AFP.

return Balkans The country has been hit by high temperatures of up to 40 degrees for the second week in a row. In Albania, for example, the temperature is expected to reach 42 degrees, and in its metropolis Tirana, the streets and cafes are almost empty. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, they measured a record sea temperature on Monday, reaching 29.7 degrees Celsius at 5 pm, the highest temperature since Croatia began measuring sixty years ago. Dubrovnik is thus ahead of the island of Rab, where the sea warmed to 29.5 degrees in 2015.