Central and Southern Europe sizzles as temperatures soar

A heatwave sweeping central and south-eastern Europe has killed at least 13 people this week, with soaring temperatures causing forest fires and damaging crops, officials said today.

In Romania, where temperatures reached about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) today, the Health Ministry said at least nine people have died since Monday due to the heat wave.

In Austria, where highs in most parts of the Alpine country have hovered near or above 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) for days, the health ministry said the deaths of three people in the country’s south yesterday were likely to be heat-related.

Also yesterday, a 56-year-old woman collapsed and died in downtown Zagreb, Croatia, of what doctors believed was a heat-related heart attack.

Temperatures in the Balkan country reached about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) today.

Elsewhere in the region, in parts of Slovakia and Hungary, authorities distributed free water in some cities.

In the eastern Hungarian town of Kiskunhalas temperatures reached a record 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 Fahrenheit), according to the country’s national weather centre.

Firefighters in Greece, where the country’s Fire Service yesterday reported 115 fires in a 24-hour period, struggled to contain a blaze at an old army base near the capital Athens, where temperatures reached 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit).

France, where the weather is normal for this time of year, is lending a hand to firefighters in Greece.

Two Canadair firefighting planes left this morning for Greece and will return home on Sunday night.

The heat has also sparked forest fires in parts of Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, where a state of emergency has been declared in the southern districts of Haskovo and Stara Zagora.

Strong winds and high temperatures are complicating efforts to contain the blazes and Bulgarian authorities have called on army and police units for help.

The extreme heat and lack of rain is also causing concern among farmers in the area.

In Romania, for example, an industry group estimates the agriculture sector has suffered damage worth over £1 billion due to a severe drought.

The League of Agricultural Producers called on the government to pay compensation for their losses and provide them with seed to help replant crops in the fall.

The government has so far declared a state of disaster in 34 out of 42 counties and has offered to pay compensation of up to 750 lei (£160) per affected hectare or about 310 lei (£70) per acre.

In Austria, the steady sunshine and lack of rain has also taken its toll on grapes in Burgenland, one of Austria’s wine growing regions.

“In the vineyards, there are first signs of ’sunburn’ damage,” Franz Stefan Hautzinger, president of the region’s agriculture chamber, was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency.