Hotter, drier, deadlier

Sweltering cities and burning landscapes mark another summer of extreme weather across Europe.

1. Visitors seeking relief from the scorching heat as they queue to refill water bottles outside Rome’s iconic Colosseum in Italy. — Reuters

2. Firefighters battling to contain a warehouse fire during a wildfire near Oraiokastro, on the northwestern outskirts of Thessaloniki, Greece. Record-breaking heat and scarce rainfall have turned forests and fields into tinderboxes, with forecasters warning of more extreme conditions ahead. — Bloomberg

3. A firefighter spraying water on smoke plumes to stop a wildfire from reigniting in Ille-sur-Tet, southern France. Hundreds of firefighters, supported by specialised aircraft, fought to contain a ‘gigantic’ blaze in the Pyrenees-Orientales region, forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents near Perpignan. — AFP

4. A woman shielding herself from the sun with an umbrella while visiting La Sagrada Família during a heatwave in Barcelona, Spain. The country’s weather agency issued its highest-level red heat alert in three eastern regions, with temperatures forecast to soar above 40°C. — AFP