Spain:

The Iberian Peninsula in particular is currently being hit by scorching heat.

The Aemet weather service issued an alarm for 16 of the 17 autonomous communities in Spain on Wednesday.

According to Aemet, this second heatwave of the year in Spain is likely to be one of the longest since records began in 1975.

The heat, along with a drought that has lasted for weeks and high winds, is fueling wildfires.

The current worst fire continues to rage in the community of Las Hurdes near the border with Portugal.

As of June 30, there were around 250 major fires in Spain, which destroyed a total of almost 82,000 hectares of forest.

That's almost as much as in the entire previous year.

Portugal:

Meanwhile, people are talking about the worst drought in the last 20 years.

After the hottest May since 1931, more than 97 percent of the territory is currently suffering from severe drought, according to the latest data from the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

Portugal was spared forest fires for a long time this year, but for a few days there have been fires in many places in the center and north.

On Monday, 36 wildfires were active.

Italy:

The popular holiday destination has been suffering from heat and drought for weeks.

It rained too little, especially in the north, so that rivers and lakes carried significantly less water than usual.

A state of emergency has been declared in five regions in the north.

For tourists, the effects are unlikely to be noticeable at the moment.

Some cities turned off part of the fountains or restricted the use of water.

In the south, on the other hand, the fire brigades are increasingly fighting forest fires.

The civil defense expects a labour-intensive forest fire season.

France:

In our neighboring country, meteorologists expect a drought record by the end of July.

Although there were storms with lots of rain in many places in the second half of June, the effect has largely disappeared - and the soil is drying out again.

Temperatures are expected to rise to almost 40 degrees this week.

The fire brigade has already had to fight numerous forest fires.

Fighting continues on the Atlantic coast against a large-scale forest fire in the pine forests south of Bordeaux.

As a precaution, the city of Nîmes canceled the fireworks on the national holiday, July 14th.

In individual, mostly small communities, there were problems with the drinking water supply.

Croatia:

Here, too, the fire brigade is fighting a forest fire near the Dalmatian town of Sibenik, which on Wednesday affected two villages on the Krka Riviera, which is popular with holidaymakers.

The residents of Zaton and Raslina were taken to safety by boats across the Stubalj Bay.

The situation is worse than it has been for ten years, the civil defense said.

Greece:

The situation eased after a long drought and numerous fires earlier in the month.

It rained heavily in almost all regions of the country.

However, this phase of relaxation will only last a few days, it said.

From July 18, the thermometer should show values ​​​​of more than 40 degrees, especially in the south of the country.

On the Greek island of Samos, several towns were evacuated on Wednesday evening because of a forest fire that got out of control.