Compulsory breaks for food delivery riders as Greece heatwave persists
The labour ministry's order prohibits these activities from midday to 5pm in central Greece and several islands, with employers also advised to offer remote work options.
This measure comes as a heatwave is set to grip the country until Thursday, following similar extreme temperatures experienced across Europe.
Greek authorities are implementing long-term strategies to address the effects of climate change, including the deployment of a record number of firefighters this summer.
The country has recently battled significant wildfires, including one on Crete that necessitated the evacuation of 5,000 tourists, and another near Athens.
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Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Italy is hit by deadly 'water bomb' floods while southern France, Greece and Turkey battles ferocious wildfires as Europe's wild weather continues
Italy has been hit by deadly 'water bomb' floods while southern France battles ferocious wildfires as wild weather continues to devastate Europe. Tragically, one woman lost her life in Lombardy, northern Italy, after a furious storm caused a tree to come crashing down to the ground. Viviana Maria Baldassini, 63, from San Vittore Olona, died after being crushed by the tree trunk as she walked alongside her two friends who were both airlifted to hospital with injuries. In Lombardy, an orange weather warning has been in place since Saturday with widespread damage and destruction recorded over the weekend. Just 50 miles away in Milan, severe flooding was reported as underpasses and roads were closed as a precaution. Traffic caused backlog on the roads and parks were closed due to the risk of falling trees. 'In Milan, in less than two hours, 50mm of rain, more than 40 interventions for fallen branches and trees and three closed underpasses,' the councilor for Public Works and Civil Protection of Milan, Marco Granelli said. On Sunday evening, lightning terrifyingly struck a train on the Milan-Rome high-speed line near the town of Melegnano. The vehicle was halted for safety checks and travellers witnessed delays of up to 70 minutes. The horror weather continued to spread through the country, with Piedmont, a region of Italy bordering France and Switzerland hit with strong, destructive winds. A roof of an apartment in a residential area was blown off by the gusts, which also knocked down a tree in a local park. There were no reported injuries. Also in the northern regions of Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia there were temporary blackouts due to the ferocious storms, as hailstorms left Genoa battered. Beauty spots Tuscany and Florence were also hit hard with bad weather as trees toppled on to parked cars and rains lashed down on to the usually sunny regions. In the Florence commune of Montespertoli, lightning chillingly split a cypress tree in half as it was revealed in local media that over the course of 12 hours, over over 27 thousand lightning strikes were recorded throughout the region. On Monday, the northern and central regions continued their relentless battle against the freak bad weather with the risk of violent storms, hailstorms and strong winds, especially in the Alps and Prealps, remaining high. After a partial improvement expected this afternoon, new rainfall is set to batter Italy in the evening. In the south, however, it is still extremely hot. From mid-week, meteorologists predict the return of the African anticyclone. Temperatures are set to rise with peaks of 38C to 40C expected in Basilicata, Puglia and Sicily. Italy has placed 21 cities on red alert, including important ones, such as Rome, Milan and Naples. Emergency rooms reported a 10 percent rise in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine. Elsewhere, countries across the Mediterranean are battling fast-spreading wildfires and soaring temperatures as a heatwave sweeps through Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, prompting evacuations and emergency alerts. Blazes broke out in Greece, Turkiye, France and Syria on Sunday, with several other nations on high alert as forecasters warned that the scorching weather would intensify in the coming days. Emergency teams and ambulances were stationed near popular tourist destinations, while meteorologists warned that extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense. France saw wildfires break out in the Corbieres region of Aude in the southwest, where temperatures soared above 40C. A campsite and a historic abbey were evacuated due to the levels of danger. Meteo France placed 84 of the country's 101 departments under orange-level heat alerts on Monday. Fires are ongoing in Estézargues, Portel-des-Corbières and Fréjus, where tourists are reportedly being evacuated due to the blaze's proximity to a campsite, reports Connexion France. The emergency services also remain mobilised in Moux and Fabrègues, although the fires have now been largely contained. But large areas of France remain on high alert for wildfires, following last weeks heatwave, as firefighters are bracing for further incidents in the weeks to come. In Var, a fire started at Fréjus near the Camping du Colombier at around noon on Monday. Within one hour, 95 firefighters were at the scene. By 2pm, they declared the fire was under control, but it continued to burn on over two hectares of land. In Hérault, a fire began in Fabrègues early on Saturday afternoon, spreading rapidly to neighbouring Mireval, forcing the authorities to order several home evacuations and cutting power to hundreds of homes. At its peak, over 400 firefighters, four Canadair water bombers, and more than 60 vehicles were deployed. Fire crews worked through the night, and by 02:00am on July 7 the blaze was declared 'under control' by Jérôme Bonnafoux, spokesperson for the Hérault fire service. Nearly 400 hectares of brushland and pine forest were affected, although the final figure is expected to be revised after full mapping with drones. 'The wind has picked up again this morning,' Mr Bonnafoux told Franceinfo on Sunday, 'and though the temperature has dropped slightly, we are keeping watch to prevent any reignition.' In Spain, the national weather agency AEMET reported temperatures reaching 44C in parts of Extremadura and Andalusia. 'I feel that the heat we're experiencing is not normal for this time of year,' said Diego Radames, a 32-year-old photographer in Madrid, speaking to the AFP news agency. 'Madrid just keeps getting hotter.' Portugal also faced extreme conditions, with the capital, Lisbon, under a red warning until Monday night.
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Syrian wildfires spread due to heavy winds and war remnants
Syrian firefighters are facing heavy winds, high temperatures and ordnance left behind from the 13-year civil war as they try to extinguish some of country's worst wildfires in years, a government minister said Monday. The fires, which started last week, have proven difficult to bring under control despite reinforcements from Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon that came to the war-torn country to help Syrian teams fight the blaze. Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said their main challenges are two locations in the coastal province of Latakia that they have been trying to control for two days. 'We have controlled other locations,' al-Saleh told The Associated Press at the scene. On the second day of the fire, firefighters managed to get 90% of the wildfires under control but explosions of left-over war ordnance and heavy winds helped spread the fires again, al-Saleh said. He added that 120 teams are fighting the blazes. On Monday, the Lebanese army said it sent two helicopters to help fight the fires in coordination with Syrian authorities. Over the weekend, U.N. teams deployed to the Syrian coast where they are conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the damage and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs. Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions that then lead to blazes. Also, below-average rainfall over the winter left Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer, as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Wildfires are ‘disaster waiting to happen', farmers warn
Farmers have warned that wildfires are a 'disaster waiting to happen' as a third heatwave looms. The Met Office has issued seven red 'very high' UV alerts ahead of the third heatwave in four weeks. Temperatures are expected to climb into the low 30s again from Wednesday into next week, following the UK's warmest spring on record and driest for more than 50 years. Gareth Wyn Jones, a sheep farmer and campaigner from Llanfairfechan, has sounded the alarm over the threat of wildfires on arid UK farmland. He told The Telegraph: 'Of course we are fearful, we've got mountains like tinder boxes and no one listens.' Mr Wyn Jones, whose family have farmed in Wales for over 370 years, said the incentivised removal of grazing sheep from upland areas was creating a dangerous build-up of dry vegetation. 'They don't understand that ruminants keep these areas from burning,' he said, adding: 'It's a disaster waiting to happen. 'Steve Reed [the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs] wants to clear animals from the uplands and give more money to help wildfires.' Natural England, the Government's nature watchdog, has been incentivising farmers to remove animals to protect wildlife and prevent overgrazing, leading to sheep numbers in England falling by 7 per cent in the last two years. The Moorland Association has estimated that there are now 600,000 tons of extra vegetation being left on the land each year. Earlier this year, Andrew Gilruth, the association's chief executive, said that 'sooner or later there will be a strong wind blowing the wrong way with our northern cities most at risk', adding: 'It may happen under Angela Rayner's watch.' In March, fire crews tackling a moorland fire in Cumbria said that the 'fire loading' of dead vegetation was 'increasing the risk of wildfire'. By April, more than 29,200 hectares (292sq km) of land had been scorched by wildfires, according to satellite imagery from the Global Wildfire Information System. This was already higher than the total for any year since the researchers started recording data in 2012. Last week, a wildfire broke out in the Shropshire Hills, prompting homes and businesses to be evacuated while farmers tackled the blaze. In 2023 the cost of farm fires in the UK increased by 37 per cent to an estimated £110.3 million, according to NFU Mutual's latest data. Rachel Hallos, the NFU vice-president, said wildfires were 'a serious threat to the countryside'. She told The Telegraph: 'We can see how fast these fires can spread, putting both people and animals at risk and destroying valuable crops, grassland and infrastructure. 'Farmers are on the front line of this crisis, but we can't tackle this alone. It's vital that government and fire services work with us on prevention, education and response and urgently review whether some changes in land management – particularly in the uplands – could be increasing wildfire risk as hotter, drier summers become more frequent.' Ms Hallos urged all those enjoying the countryside this summer to do their part in abiding by the Countryside Code, avoiding open fires and reporting any signs of fire immediately. 'Protecting our farmland means protecting our food, our environment and our rural way of life,' she added. The Met Office's definition of a heatwave is three consecutive days of temperatures exceeding the 'heatwave threshold' for that part of the country. For most of the UK, this is 25C, with slightly higher numbers for the South and East, rising to 28C in London. Dan Holley, the deputy chief meteorologist, said that 'this heatwave is likely to last longer than previous ones so far this summer and affect a wider area'. He explained that high pressure from the Atlantic would 'gradually exert influence over the UK this week', with temperatures building from 28C on Wednesday, to 30C on Thursday to 32C on Friday. 'By this stage, heatwave criteria are likely to be met in parts of England and Wales, and in parts of Scotland over the weekend,' he said, adding: 'High temperatures are likely to persist into the weekend, especially away from coasts with onshore winds, reaching the low 30s in portions of England and Wales, and accompanied by rising humidity and warmer nights.' Waters to the south of the UK are also experiencing a significant marine heatwave, with the conditions expected to persist and intensify over the coming week. A spokesman for the National Fire Chiefs Council told The Telegraph: 'With the long, dry and warm conditions continuing, we will see an increased risk of wildfires. This is especially important in those areas where communities border the countryside and there is greater risk to life and property. 'Effective land management will reduce or at least mitigate some of that risk to those lives and property. This might be done on an individual or community level – for example, with projects like Firewise-UK which encourages communities to work together to reduce their wildfire risk by taking practical steps in the area around the home and garden – or by land managers on a larger scale.'
