Europeans sizzle amid relentless heatwave while Greece catches fire

Wild fires engulf the fields near the settlement of Pournari, in the area of Magoula, some 25km southwest of the Greek capital Athens on July 18, 2023.

More of the fire near Athens. Europe braced for new high temperatures on July 18, 2023, under a relentless heatwave and wildfires that have scorched swathes of the Northern Hemisphere.

More of the fire near Athens. Health authorities have sounded alarms from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and shelter from the burning sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming.

A person cools off at the Piazza del Popolo, during a heatwave across Italy, as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Rome, Italy July 18, 2023.

People sit on stairs during a heatwave across Italy as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Bologna, Italy July 18, 2023.

People cool off at the Piazza del Popolo, during a heatwave across Italy, as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Rome, Italy July 18, 2023.

During a heatwave in Croatia, a man cools his legs in a fountain in the centre of Zagreb on July 17, 2023.

A mother bathes with her sons in a branch of the Danube River next to Frecatei village in the eastern Dobrogea region, some 55 kilometres south of Braila, southeastern Romania, on July 17, 2023.

A woman covers herself with a scarf in Avignon, southern France, on July 17, 2023.

A girl cools off at a fountain in Pristina on July 17, 2023, as Kosovo is hit by a heatwave.