Brutal heatwave scorches southern Europe as summer of extreme weather rages on

Greece is facing one of its worst heatwaves in decades and the country remains on high alert as it continues to battle blazes across the country.Heat warnings have also been issued for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. Deadly wildfires have swept across parts of Turkey in recent days and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that there had been no loss of life and that the emergency evacuation system had worked. He stressed that the next days would be crucial because of the heatwave and that everyone should remain on alert.Several residential areas have been evacuated, according to the Greek Fire Service.As the fire spread Tuesday north of the capital, authorities urged residents to leave the Athens suburbs of Varimpompi, Adames, and Thrakomakedones, as well as the Olympic village. The fire also threatened the Tatoi Royal Palace.Firefighters also battled strong blazes on the Greek islands of Kos and Evia, as well as the Peloponnese peninsula, as some residents were evacuating.”The hours are critical and the conditions we face extremely dangerous,” Greece’s Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias, said Tuesday. “Our country is experiencing an extreme weather phenomenon the last days, one of the worst heatwaves of the last 40 years.”Updating journalists on the Athens-area fire Wednesday, Hardalias said an initial estimate was that 76 houses and 27 businesses had been seriously damaged. More than 70 people have been taken to the hospital with respiratory problems since Tuesday, Greek Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias added.’European solidarity’Meanwhile, Turkey was fighting against 11 fires in six provinces as of Tuesday, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli tweeted on his official account.A total of 152 fires in 32 provinces have been brought under control in Turkey in the last six days, he said. Speaking at a government news conference in Marmaris, Pakdemirli said the Marmaris district of Mugla province had seen an all-time high temperature of 43.5 degrees Celsius with very low humidity — less than 10% — and 65 kilometers per hour (40 mph) wind speed.More than 2,000 houses have been damaged in Antalya and another 347 in Mugla, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the news conference.The mayor of Milas, a city in southwestern Turkey, said flames from the ongoing fires had reached close to a power plant Tuesday evening.”The situation is very serious,” said Mayor Muhammet Tokat. “The flames came near a thermal power plant. If possible, a plane or helicopter with night vision should be directed to the area immediately.”CNN’s Chris Liakos reported from Kefalonia and Isil Sariyuce from Istanbul, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite, Taylor Ward, Monica Garrett and Livia Borghese contributed to this report.