'Hellishly hot' southern Europe bakes under heat wave, worst still to come as temperatures top 104F

The Italian health ministry has placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning as a wave of hot air from Africa is baking southern Europe. Temperatures were already nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104F) and were expected to get even higher later in the week. Municipal authorities in several southern European and Balkan cities took measures to look after elderly people in particular as civil protection crews fielded calls for Canadairs and other aircraft to douse wildfires that raged in southern Italy and North Macedonia. In Greece, municipalities made air conditioned spaces available to the public, while certain forms of outdoor work were banned, such as manual labor, deliveries and construction, during the hottest time of the day.