Europe is being battered by extreme weather, as ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires in France closed in on a major city and tornadoes formed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Raging fires are closing in on France’s Marseille after nearly 170 firefighters were forced to extinguish a nearby wildfire fuelled by strong winds that broke out this morning.
Earlier, the city’s airport was forced to closed at around midday local time, and no aircraft have been allowed to land or take off from the regional travel hub.
Local media reports that at least four planes were turned away. Three went to Nice, while one went to Montpellier.
‘It’s very striking – apocalyptic even,’ Monique Baillard, a resident of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, told Reuters. She said many of her neighbours had already left, even if there were no evacuation orders, adding: ‘We’re staying unless the firefighters tell us to evacuate.’
‘The smoke is very striking, very acrid,’ said another resident, Jacqueline Revilla. ‘We were ordered to stay confined via a message on our mobile phones. We’re waiting for further updates for now.’
Freak weather events were seen across Europe, including in Croatia, Greece, Spain Switzerland, and Turkey.
Croatia’s coastal Istria region yesterday saw the formation of several tornadoes. Local media reported that waterspouts were seen near Pula and above Brijuni, as well as near Rovinj and the island of Vrsar.
Terrifying footage showed the massive column rise hundreds of feet into the air, spinning into a large, dark cloud above the region.
Over in Greece, the nation’s culture ministry today ordered a partial closure of the Acropolis in Athens, the country’s top monument, to protect visitors amid heatwave conditions.
Temperatures in the country are expected to reach a high of 42C (107.6 Fahrenheit) today.
The ministry in a statement said the site would be closed from 1pm to 5pm local time ‘for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures.’
The four-day heatwave that began Sunday is the second to grip Greece since late June.
A combination of high temperatures and winds has started a series of wildfires across the country, including on the island of Cyprus.
Dozens of fire engines and firefighting planes and helicopters were sent to battle ever-growing flames that are lashing across the Paphos region of the island.
Terrifying footage showed plumes of grey smoke billowing into the sky as firefighting planes and helicopters dropped water on flames.
One image taken in the region showed a swathe of scorched earth with large flames as its edge reaching further into dry grassland, that caught fire on Monday afternoon.
Another series of photos taken by emergency services showed brave firefighters getting within just a few feet of growing flames and showering them with water to slow their spread.
Other images showed firefighters digging ditches to cut off non-affected land from the flames.
At least one firefighter was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Local media reported that 11 fire engines, three earth movers and four aircraft were initially called to the area.
Two more earth movers and four more fire engines, along with dozens of volunteer and military personnel, were brought in to support them.
It was reported that centuries-old olive trees and young olive trees were burned, while the fire also burned down vineyards.
As Cyprus deals with wildfires, police on the island of Karpathos have begun the 12th day of their search for a missing British tourist.
The 55-year-old, who has not yet been publicly identified, went missing on June 27.
Investigative officers are employing volunteers, drones and dogs to search a wide area.
The man was last seen in Tristomo, where a witness saw him take pictures of the area with his mobile phone.
He reportedly asked for directions on how to drive south to the Vroukounda area via the Lahamitis area, which have both been searched by police.
He was reported missing by the owner of the residence he was staying in alone, after she went to clean it the day after he was meant to have checked out.
His ex-wife, son and son-in-law have reportedly landed on the island.
The chaotic scenes in Greece come as the whole of Europe faces blazing hot weather.
Spanish authorities ordered more than 18,000 residents of the northeastern Tarragona province to remain indoors on Tuesday and several dozen were evacuated as a wildfire raged out of control, consuming almost 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of vegetation.
Large parts of Spain are on high alert for wildfires after the country experienced its hottest June on record. Two people died in a wildfire on July 1 in the region of Catalonia where Tarragona is located.
The latest fire broke out early on Monday in a remote area near the village of Pauls, where strong winds and rugged terrain have hampered firefighting efforts, authorities said. An emergency military unit was deployed early on Tuesday alongside more than 300 firefighters working in the area.
‘Since midnight, firefighters have been battling the blaze with gusts of wind reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 miles per hour),’ Catalonia’s regional firefighting service said, adding that the strong Mistral wind was expected to ease by the afternoon.
Overnight, fire engines raced the winding roads of the Pauls Mountains, surrounded by flames, as crews assessed and tried to contain the blaze.
In the neighbouring villages of Xerta and Aldover, residents spent a sleepless night as the flames threatened their homes.
‘(There has been) a lot of fear and a lot of crying because we are already on the edge of the fire. Last night, because of the wind that was blowing the fire and the smoke, we couldn’t leave our house. Terrible, this has never been seen before,’ Rosa Veleda, 76, told Reuters.
Authorities said they had prevented the fire from spreading across the Ebro River, which would have worsened the situation. Approximately 30% of the affected area lies within the Ports Natural Park, and officials are investigating the fire’s origins.
Back in France, five people including a child were injured after a wildfire burned down 2,000 hectares of forest.
Several houses were damaged, while a workshop and stable completely burned down in Aude, in the south of France.
Around 150 people were evacuated and kept in nearby exhibition centres and gyms.
One local man, Frédéric Bou, told French media he had spent the entire night watering the pine trees near his house to prevent flames from hitting his home.
The fire was the third one this week in Aude. The latest fire broke out in a vineyard.
In total, more than 1,000 firefighters and several firefighting aircraft were deployed.
Blazes also cropped up in Turkey, with its interior minister Ali Yerlikaya revealing on Friday that Turkish authorities arrested 10 suspects in relation to wildfires that broke out across the country.
But over in Switzerland, an unusually wintry scene was spotted in the mountains where snow fell on the Stevio Pass.
Temperatures on the Alps dropped unusually low following a heatwave in the country.
As a result the snowline, the level at which snow falls, fell from 5,000m to just 2,100m, leaving many mountain roads covered in the white powder.
